The Pig and I

Alright guys, this is a two-for-one recipe day. I was laying in bed a couple nights ago, thinking about pumpkin. I guess I'm thinking about a different food each time I'm laying in bed waiting to fall asleep, but this time it was pumpkin. Mostly because I'd forgotten I had that big pumpkin left, until Ross came up to me the other day and mentioned that the pumpkin had mold in a little spot on the top near the stem. Naturally, I figured I had better get to work processing that pumpkin immediately, so I did it the next day. :) I only lost a bit of the top that I wouldn't have lost otherwise. The seeds are sitting in a bowl of water now waiting for me to have time to roast them. The rest of the pumpkin has been sliced, rind on, into 4"x1" pieces, after which I flash froze it, bagged it (4 bags) and laid those in the freezer to hard freeze. I already had 3 cups of pureed pumpkin left in the freezer, plus some pumpkin ravioli filling (which is now in the fridge), s...

I found this little sweet potato next to the pumpkin. I think I mentioned this to y'all already. It's weird to me that I keep finding root veggies and squash tucked in various places in the house. Was I trying to hide them from myself? Was I developing some sort of storage system that I don't actually remember any of the details of? I have no idea, really, but given that we've been low on produce lately (though you'll see that change in the next Saturday Spending), it's exciting when I find this kind of stuff hanging out awaiting rediscovery. Because risotto has effectively become our home's "lazy meal," I did this in a similar style. I didn't use a normal broth, since I mainly was just looking for a spice combination in the broth and not a meat or veggie flavour. I feel like this worked out pretty well, and it nicely accented the sweet potato, in a way that doesn't rely on sugar to make the sweet potato have a place on the table (I guess...

Well, you'll be surprised by this. Although my pantry is getting dangerously low, I've not had time to really dedicate any of my attention to fixing it. Lately, it seems that we eat a LOT of risotto. Mainly because it's so easy to cook and it only takes about 40 minutes total. And I have night classes, 'n stuff. So all I got was rice. Because I think we're almost always out of medium grain. HEB: $2.56 - 5 pounds medium grain rice total: $2.56 How was your shopping? Are you dreading the billion dollar trip to the store like I am? Or are you mostly set and just getting incidentals?

This week? Not perfect. Interestingly enough, as I was cleaning down the bread table, I discovered there was a large piece of cake that snuck by us. I think the cake was probably several weeks old. It hadn't molded somehow (which is particularly strange given the humidity in Houston - magic cake, huh?), but it looked so tremendously stale I opted against eating it (or making Ross eat it; he said he'd had a piece the day before and that it was quite stale but that he'd muscle through that one if I really wanted him to. He's a good garbage disposal). So we wasted that. But that's it, so I'm comfortable with this level of waste. I'm taking it mostly as a lesson to look under foil covers and the like to make sure nothing is escaping me. And, just FYI, recipes should be resuming again next week. I've got three piled up from this week for you, and although I'm spending most of the weekend away from my kitchen (we're going to this rodeo cook-off thing...

Still going through the bergamots, and it's wonderful. When I made the bars, it necessarily left a lot of rind behind, and of course I couldn't let it go to waste. I cannot imagine the horror I'd feel if I actually had to say I wasted a single part of the most precious fruit in the world. So... Yeah. I thought about it, and I was considering doing the spoon sweets, but I just didn't feel I had enough rind for this (since it was rind from only 3-4 oranges), although I've since changed my mind. Small jars of spoon sweets would be better for me to make anyway, I believe, since I tend to treat them in an addict sort of manner. I thought it'd be nice to make another candy, but I didn't want to really mess with standard candy making this weekend. I am simply drowning in homework. Drowning. Really. Like, as I understand it, Ross misses me. Y'all probably get more communication out of me right now than even my neighbours do. So I thought candied peels would be t...

Not a ton of spending this week, but a couple incidentals. Ross didn't know there was chicken in the freezer until I said, "hey, while you're at the store would you get chicken too? We're almost out." "Almost?!?" was his response. Evidently he didn't know that we had meat in the house, since I haven't cooked it in a month or more. I need to make a massive produce and rice trip, but I'll get to it when I have time to really stock the pantry again. So here's how it went. Kroger: $7.99 - 4 pounds chicken breast $3.78 - gallon milk (ew) $0.00 - butter (yay Kroger for free stuff) $3.48 - orange juice (have y'all ever tried campari and orange juice? So much love) $5.38 - 10 pounds bread flour total: $20.63

Happily, I have nothing to report today. There's been an utter lack of waste, which is pretty amazing. I don't know if this is because the only food we've bought in the last.. what, month? has been related to camping, or just because we've been doing better. But regardless, I'm pleased. How'd y'all do?

I really like lemon bars, but I never make them. Never. I'm really not sure why, given that my love of sour citrus is not something unknown to be a routine feature in my recipes. Ross has been asking me for months to please make some lemon bars, and I've just been putting it off for some reason. But then, of course, the bergamots arrived and that changed everything. I'd actually forgotten about the usual lemon bar request, until Ross wisely asked if I'd be interested in bergamot bars. Well, of course I am. So, I was looking through the Martha Stewart cookie book to see if there was a recipe in there (there wasn't). I know, I said it. Martha Stewart. I know so many people hate her, but I just can't dislike her one bit, regardless of her legal actions or personality. The woman can cook . So I love her, and I'm okay with that. I can't imagine why there would be a lemon bar recipe, since they're not cookies, but nonetheless I looked. Perhaps I just need...

So, bergamade. It's basically the same as lemonade, except, well... with bergamot. Of course. Because what isn't better with bergamot (if you know the answer, don't tell me; I'll think you're telling fibs anyway)? It's sweet. It's sour. It's musky. It's wonderful. I like to drink it a lot, though I normally only drink it when I've got fresh oranges. I have fresh oranges, so.... :) Hope you enjoy! 1/2 cup bergamot juice (this for me was two oranges) - reserve peels for another use 1/2 cup sugar (or... bergamot sugar!) 2 quarts water Mix well. Chill. Drink. Serves one, unless you're generous. Picture coming later. Also, it'll be a few days until my next post, as I need to read a couple books this week which really cuts into my cooking/posting time.

In my quest to enjoy all these bergamots in new-to-me ways, I've come up with this little ditty. The base of it comes from my mother's (her mother's?) pineapple-upside down cake. But then, due to some ingredient issues (no ap-flour, no milk, etc.), it's become something quite different. So next time I make the actual pineapple upside down cake, I'll post that recipe separately. 1 bergamot orange, sliced into slices no more than 1mm thick, pips (seeds) removed (save the ends to squeeze juice out of for cake part of the recipe, then blend up the rinds to make more bergamot sugar) 6 tablespoons each: butter, dark brown sugar heaping 1 1/2 cups cake flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup butter, room temperature 2/3 cups bergamot sugar 1 egg 1 tablespoon-ish bergamot juice 1/2 cup sour cream candied oranges from above In a skillet over medium-low heat, melt butter and sugar. When melted, stir until sugar is somewhat (mostly) dissolved. A...

This week's shopping was all camping stuff, as I can tell. Okay, not all. But mostly. Plus more stuff for the bergamots (of which there are now 13 more; THANK YOU, LISA!!!!). So here's that. $2.26 - water $6.99 - sugar $2.29 - hot cocoa $5.00 - butter $3.48 - OJ $7.99 - almonds $3.40 - onions $7.39 - tahini $1.99 - eggs $1.00 - garlic $11.39 - flour (17 pounds) total: $53.18

Well, my fridge is still empty. This basically means that I had little waste, because there wasn't much that could be wasted. However, there was still waste somehow. We wasted about a bowl's full of pasta. What happened is that we somehow managed to overcook the pasta, and though we tried and tried to eat it, neither of us could stomach getting through that last bit. So this is not great, but acceptable, yeah? How'd y'all do?

Okay, this is the simplest of recipes, and since it's tea, I won't be giving a picture. Plus, I'm already out of town camping by the time y'all get this, so there's that. Have a great weekend! 3-4 teaspoons black tea (I've been using osmanthus for this) 20-25 ounces water heated to between 190F and 200F 1-2 tablespoons bergamot sugar Heat water, and pour it over tea. Put sugar in your teapot (not the one you're steeping in, but the one you're pouring your cups from). Wait three minutes, then drain tea from spent leaves into pot that has sugar in it. Stir, portion out, drink. Serves 2.

I've always thought that bergamot and lavender are pretty good friends. Every time I see them hanging out together, something good comes of it. So of course, now that I've got bergamot to play with, I wanted to get those buddies together and give them a chance to do something good for me. Enter shortbread. I've been making my own Earl Grey blend since the oranges came in (yes, that will be posted too, although it'll be tomorrow that it happens), and really, with tea one must have shortbread. Am I the only one who thinks that? I hope not, but maybe I am. Anyway, these are pretty simple. They use the standard 1:2:4 ratio, of sugar:butter:flour construction. I'm embarrassed to say that the last time I baked shortbread is when I was mailing it to New Orleans (along with 30 pounds of other goodies) for a friend who stayed after Katrina to rebuild. This time I made them to take to school with me. My Monday class is three hours, and I personally think that three hour lon...

Alright, so y'all know where I'm at right now with the bergamots, yes? In heaven. That's where. So yesterday we did the bergamot sugar, which was important because we need it for these caramels and such. Today, we use that sugar in these caramels. The basis of this recipe is the ever-so-popular (and for good reason; it's an excellent recipe) 2004 Gourmet Fleur de Sel caramels (y'all will have to google for the original recipe, since I printed it ages ago and didn't save the link), with some differences. I made quite a lot of changes to the recipe, but I still like to give credit where it's due so I wanted to mention where the base came from. I had some little adventures while making this caramel. The adventure was in that I am sometimes cursed with an utter lack of forethought. This was one of those times. It's been raining for days (okay, I'm writing this the Saturday before this goes up, so... I don't know if it's still be raining for day...

Alright, so I've decided to post this as a separate recipe, since y'all are going to see it in a few things. It's nice to have on hand, anyway. This method works really well with pretty much anything from herbs to all other citruses. I made a lot, because I have a lot of plans. It's good for baking, and also nice if you have some black tea that you want to turn into sweetened Earl Grey. I'm planning to take some iced Earl Grey made with this stuff to class when I bring them the upcoming shortbreads. Hope you enjoy! 2 pounds sugar Rind (but not pith) of 1 bergamot orange Put the sugar and the peel in a food processor or blender. Pulse/blend/whatever, until the bergamot is finely grated and fully integrated into the sugar. Put in a jar and use in all your bergamot-flavoured recipes. Makes 2 pounds. Note: When you're done, you will have caster, or superfine, sugar. Therefore, if you opt to use it in baking, I'd recommend weighing the sugar instead of mea...

Okay, so I just want to remind you all that this is not a traditional preparation for pita, though it is quite good. He's got the hydration perfectly set to make pockets instead of the more dense styles of bread that don't puff as much. This recipe is written for use with a liquid type starter (though you could substitute water for the starter and add yeast). If y'all need a recipe for that, say so and I'll post my mother's. Hope you enjoy! 1 cup sourdough starter 1 cup each: all-purpose flour, bread flour, whole wheat flour (you may use different configurations of this, but I think he set it this way to off-set the protein content of the whole wheat with the AP) 1 tablespoon salt 4 ounces beer (Lonestar is what currently is in the house, I'm embarrassed to admit, but y'all use what kind of beer you keep on hand) Mix together the starter, flours, and salt. It will be shaggy and dry-ish looking when it's all mixed. Then add in the beer and mix aga...

Ross actually reminded me, quite by mistake, that this post needed to be made. When we first got together, he had never (other than rolls for holidays, I believe, though anyone who knows about this should feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken) had home-made bread. Or maybe he'd tasted it but not so routinely that he remembered home-made bread as a thing separate from grocery store bread. As y'all know, I am not really an advocate of buying bread and have done so just a couple times in recent (last couple years) memory. And so when he wanted bread I would make a loaf. This started turning into a loaf a day, which is kind of a lot (in a good way!), and it occurred to me that if I taught him how to make bread, I wouldn't have to make it anymore. Now, that sounds a little bit like I don't like making bread, which is absolutely not the case. I love making bread. I just don't always have time to make a loaf every day. Mostly I can't commit to being home long e...

Hardly any groceries were purchased this week. This is kind of a problem, since we're now officially out of bread flour, and all-purpose flour. Oops. Need to get that taken care of asap, since that means we have no flour except cake flour, Wondra flour, semolina flour and rye flour. So, we're not out of flour, but we are out of the normal types. Next week there will definitely need to be shopping. Anyway, here's the spending! Kroger: $1.48 - 1 pound strawberries total: $1.48

Y'all remember that mention of my nearly criminally empty fridge? Well, it's helped me have no waste whatsoever. So, that's two weeks in a row! How'd y'all do this week?

It's February. Y'all knew that though, so why am I telling you? I'm telling you because the bergamot, my favourite citrus and object of my undying devotion, is in season right now. These little guys have such a short season, but they're in my thoughts pretty much year round, as you also knew. Today, the FedEx guy came with a package. I was expecting this package, though I didn't know what was in it. Lisa, from Meadowood Designs , had gotten my address recently and said she was sending me something, but was delightfully silent about what this something was. I've spent several days waiting while I tried to ignore my insatiable curiosity, to find out what was coming. So while I sat waiting for the package, reading Kitzhaber for one of my classes, the FedEx guy has spent his day making the rounds of delivering treasures to people all over Houston. And finally, he arrived at my apartment. I heard the first knock and started making my way to the front door as the s...

I know, I know. I recently posted a stuffed hubbard squash recipe. But, squashes abound in all the markets, and I can't see a reason not to take advantage of them with different types of fillings. Or, you know, turning them into fillings for other things. Either way, really. So long as there's squash involved. This one is a lot simpler than the last I posted. My process also was a bit different this time. I found the squash in the dining nook/library, nestled in my shelves and hidden completely by books. Had I not actually been searching for a specific text, I can't even begin to guess how long it would've languished there before I found it. As it is, I'm sure that squash has been chilling in the shelves for quite some time, getting a nice, well-rounded education via osmosis. Anyway, I digress. Again. Since I found this squash, and also found a bag of barley in the pantry (honestly, I'd thought I needed to buy more barley), and I love squash and I love barle...