Okay, maybe not The Best, but it's a pretty darn good one. I've never heard of Casa Noble, but this review makes it sound just amazing:
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Best Christmas present ever
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Frangipane Galette
First, I discovered much too late in the process (past the point of no return) that my pears weren't ripe! I decided to cut them extra thin and add extra sugar to make up for it. See how dry and hard they look:
Despite the generous dusting of sugar, the pears still came out quite dry. I wasn't entirely sure if the frangipane was cooked all the way through when it came out, but I didn't want to risk burning the crust, so out it came.
The result: Turns out the frangipane is waaaayyyy too sweet for me! Totally overpowers everything else. Can't really taste the butter in the crust or the pears on top. Also, although the hazelnut/almond mixture tastes good, I think I'd prefer an all-almond paste. I wonder how much better this would have been if the pears had actually been ripe. Or whether it would have baked out okay if I had piled on another pear. I'm happy to say that the crust still came out wonderfully - flaky, crispy, with just a little bit of bite.
Next time, I need to make sure to use ripe pears. Use all almonds, no hazelnuts. And cut the sugar down significantly.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Mesh tote bag
All I wanted was a simple sewing machine so that I could stop hemming pants by hand for me and my short family. What I ended up with was a new (although simple) sewing machine, and 3 years of free monthly sewing classes! My first class project was this mesh tote bag - perfect for a trip to the farmers market. Next month's class is making decorative pillow cuffs, which I'm not too interested in, but maybe I'll go and make another mesh bag. I think J would like one to carry his sand toys in, especially if it was red and had dump trucks on it!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Never buying granola again
First Batch (modified KY's recipe):
3 Tbs butter
1/3 c almonds
1/3 c pecans
1/3 c hazelnuts
1/4 c coconut
scant 1/2 c agave
1 tsp cinnamon
~1/2 c water
2.5 c rolled oats
Simmer all but last 2 ingredients in butter. Add water and oats, stir to coat evenly. Spread on baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees F for 3.5 hours. Don't stir after it starts to clump.
This came out surprisingly good! Crunchy and chunky, and not at all sweet. The nuts were perfectly toasted. It's darker than I expected. Although the cinnamon smelled quite strong while baking, it doesn't taste strong in the final product. Next time: Increase agave to full 1/2 cup. Try adding 1/4 c cocoa powder. Don't forget the flaxmeal! Try adding in other grains. Maybe chop the nuts.
before baking |
after baking |
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Titanic Cake
Actually, it's caller Pimlico cake, and it's a bit like Boston cream pie. This slice was for the neighbors, but the custard is so soft, the cake just slid right off!
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
He can be taught!
Just taught R to hem his own pants, and he did a rather nice job. On the first leg. Saving the other leg for another night :)
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Sun butter jelly sandwiches
Our new daycare is a nut free facility. Being practically a fruitarian (eats fruits and nuts), I find this rather frustrating. To make things worse, it's the first time we've had to pack J's lunch everyday, and I was really hoping to get him on peanut butter jelly sandwiches, since he's so into nuts and peanut butter lately. The daycare recommended trying sun butter, a peanut butter substitute made from sunflower seeds. I'm not a huge fan, but so far, J seems to like it.
Monday, July 05, 2010
2.5 Year Old Runs Errand
And that does the trick! J accomplishes his mission, and his parents are terribly proud of him and themselves for their clever communication.
Friday, July 02, 2010
Note to self
There's an SFO to Milbrae BART shuttle that looks just like the long term parking shuttle. Don't be fooled.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Party supplies
Picked up some decorations for J's party next week. Ray and I love the construction theme because (a) it's not branded, (b) J loves tractors, and (c) our house is still under construction.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Queen of Sheba chocolate tort
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Raw chocolate pudding
Ug. Still getting the hang of Android image share workaround. Anyone else having this problem? I have to go to Gmail and attach image instead of sharing straight from Gallery.
Raw chocolate pudding
This is my first attempt at copying Cafe No Name's amazing chocolate pudding. It's just avocado, cocoa powder, agave, and salt. I mixed it by hand with a whisk, so it's a bit lumpy. R & J both liked it, but I thought it was not chocolaty enough. Next time, more cocoa!
Frozen strawberry grape juice
Ray's favorite so far: 2 cups red grapes, 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup ice. Sweet and refreshing on a hot hot day!
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Triple Berry Smoothie
Vitamix
The first thing I tried in it was carrots. I love carrot juice and wondered if I could drink a whole, blended carrot (without the fiber removed). The answer is no. I couldn't even blend the carrot beyond tiny chunks without adding some water. Then I added a whole, cored apple, to get more liquid into the mix. Finally is started really blending, but the end result was still rather thick and fibrous. Oh well, maybe I'll try blending this with some ice to see if it gets better.
Next I tried making almond milk. One cup of raw almonds plus 3 cups of water, blend for 2 minutes. This tasted just like almonds and water. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I tried sweetening some with agave and vanilla extract; now that's a tasty beverage. I've never actually had almond milk before, so I don't know what it's supposed to taste like. But this I can imagine pouring over cereal. Next, I go back to my pure almond water and sweeten it with 6 dried, pitted dates. Not bad; I would also drink this or pour it over milk. Next, I want to make something that R and J might drink, so I try three different chocolate versions: cocoa agave, cocoa agave vanilla, and cocoa agave strawberry. Here's the final result.
R likes the cocoa agave vanilla (the strawberry has a weird aftertaste - maybe from the seeds?). The strawberry version was so thick after chilling that I gave some to J as a dessert, and he said 'I like it!' Mission accomplished.
Next time I might try blanching the almonds and removing the skins first, as the skins make the whole thing a bit bitter.