Cooking
1. How will you/did you spend Father's Day? Cookout, picnic, restaurant? Any special food traditions?
Our tradition of the last few years (hmmm... how old does something have to be to qualify as a tradition?) has been to play a round of miniature golf. Actually, this is my youngest brother's tradition. Originally it was just he and my dad, but now I'm invited join in the festivities along with my mom, sister-in-law and Cassidy. This year David and Stephanie spent the weekend with her parents, so our miniature golf game is scheduled for next weekend. My personal tradition, as I've mentioned before, is to make my dad a batch of fig bars (Maida Heatter's "Big Newtons"). I delivered those to him on Father's Day, had brunch with my parents, and played a few hands of Flinch. It was a very nice day and I'm looking forward to Father's Day part II next Sunday!
2. Do you know what the odds are of having more than one double-yolked egg in one carton of eggs?
OK, I have to apologize on this one. It was obviously a setup, but the least I could have done was word the question more clearly. I don't know what the odds of getting more than one double-yolked egg in a carton are - as you all guessed, they're probably quite low. What I should have asked was, if you find a double-yolked egg, what are the odds that you'll find another in the same carton? I presumed, as you might, that they would be *really* low, but that is apparently not the case. I bought a carton a couple of weeks ago and upon using the first egg, saw my very first double-yolked egg. I was amused and not at all alarmed to see one double-yolked egg, but by the time I'd cracked open the third or fourth I was a little freaked and was wondering what kind of mutant chickens were making my eggs. I was thinking of firing off an email to Jen, who is blogdom's resident expert on eggs, but decided to first consult Google. I learned that the large eggs layed by young hens are likely to be double-yolked. So, that means that if your carton of large eggs came from a young flock, there's a good chance you'll have more than one double-yolked egg. In my case, every single one of them was double-yolked. I know they're supposed to be lucky, but still... I was never so glad to finish a carton of eggs!
3. Do you have any "cooking cheats"... shortcuts you take because it's easier and no one will ever know the difference?
Now with this question, lazy cook that I am, I was really hoping to get some good tips! Using canned tomatoes is such a normal thing for me that I had never even thought of it as a cheat, but I may avoid a future emergency run to the grocery store the next time I'm a little short on milk thanks to Mari! My cheats have to do with sifting. These days I seldom sift flour before measuring, instead just fluffing it up a bit with the scoop. I used to have just the teensiest guilt pangs when I'd do this, but then one day saw Ina Garten doing the same thing. Now I know I'm in good company and the guilt is gone :) Usually, when a recipe says to sift ingredients together I'll go along with that, but if I need to put those dry ingredients in a bowl anyway, I'll just whisk them together rather than dragging out the sifter or strainer.
4. If you were to indulge in a peanut butter sandwich, what would you have with it? Strawberry jam? Grape jelly? Cheese?
Mmmm... so many possibilities! I'd have trouble picking just one. At the moment it would probably be strawberry jam, since I just made some recently. In the past I always enjoyed my homemade apricot jam and another favorite is apple butter. I love Chuck's idea of bananas and will have to give that a try soon. Here's one that might not have occurred to you, but which is (trust me) delicious: thinly sliced dill pickles. Really!
5. When loading the dishwasher, do you think the spoons and forks should go up (handle down) or down?
I think we're all in agreement on this one - handles down!
Thanks to Mari, Leigh, Zarah, Nupur and Chuck for taking the quiz - I've really enjoyed reading your responses!
- Creamy Scrambled Eggs Recipe
I'm not the first to notice the meditative state that sometimes comes about while cooking. When you are completely focused on what you are doing it's easy to get all those pesky thoughts out of your head. But there is another mental state that...
- 45 Pounds Of Butter Later...
Honestly, I was afraid it was going to be more than that, but even at 45 pounds, that's 180 sticks of butter - more than one stick per recipe! Here's a few more numbers to marvel at: 210 eggs256 cups of flour (and that doesn't even include...
- Mondays With Maida
I’ve written before about what a great book Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Cookies is – last week when I made her Chocolate and Peanut Butter Ripples and back in August when I made her Plain Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies and Cobblestones. Please...
- I Should Be Safe From Vampires...
A Rosemary and Garlic Braid. Five bulbs of garlic, roasted in a pan with chopped fresh rosemary (from the four foot tall plant near the front porch!), and olive oil. The paste is mixed with nine (ish) cups of flour, lots of yeast, heated milk, water...
- Sweetcorn Fritters For The Girls
So I think we all know that guy by now - his big, boyish smile, his brightly colored cookbooks. Yes, it's Bill Granger again. I've made these a dozen times, and I've loved them each and every time - and I'm not that big a fan of corn,...
Cooking
My Quiz Answers
1. How will you/did you spend Father's Day? Cookout, picnic, restaurant? Any special food traditions?
Our tradition of the last few years (hmmm... how old does something have to be to qualify as a tradition?) has been to play a round of miniature golf. Actually, this is my youngest brother's tradition. Originally it was just he and my dad, but now I'm invited join in the festivities along with my mom, sister-in-law and Cassidy. This year David and Stephanie spent the weekend with her parents, so our miniature golf game is scheduled for next weekend. My personal tradition, as I've mentioned before, is to make my dad a batch of fig bars (Maida Heatter's "Big Newtons"). I delivered those to him on Father's Day, had brunch with my parents, and played a few hands of Flinch. It was a very nice day and I'm looking forward to Father's Day part II next Sunday!
2. Do you know what the odds are of having more than one double-yolked egg in one carton of eggs?
OK, I have to apologize on this one. It was obviously a setup, but the least I could have done was word the question more clearly. I don't know what the odds of getting more than one double-yolked egg in a carton are - as you all guessed, they're probably quite low. What I should have asked was, if you find a double-yolked egg, what are the odds that you'll find another in the same carton? I presumed, as you might, that they would be *really* low, but that is apparently not the case. I bought a carton a couple of weeks ago and upon using the first egg, saw my very first double-yolked egg. I was amused and not at all alarmed to see one double-yolked egg, but by the time I'd cracked open the third or fourth I was a little freaked and was wondering what kind of mutant chickens were making my eggs. I was thinking of firing off an email to Jen, who is blogdom's resident expert on eggs, but decided to first consult Google. I learned that the large eggs layed by young hens are likely to be double-yolked. So, that means that if your carton of large eggs came from a young flock, there's a good chance you'll have more than one double-yolked egg. In my case, every single one of them was double-yolked. I know they're supposed to be lucky, but still... I was never so glad to finish a carton of eggs!
3. Do you have any "cooking cheats"... shortcuts you take because it's easier and no one will ever know the difference?
Now with this question, lazy cook that I am, I was really hoping to get some good tips! Using canned tomatoes is such a normal thing for me that I had never even thought of it as a cheat, but I may avoid a future emergency run to the grocery store the next time I'm a little short on milk thanks to Mari! My cheats have to do with sifting. These days I seldom sift flour before measuring, instead just fluffing it up a bit with the scoop. I used to have just the teensiest guilt pangs when I'd do this, but then one day saw Ina Garten doing the same thing. Now I know I'm in good company and the guilt is gone :) Usually, when a recipe says to sift ingredients together I'll go along with that, but if I need to put those dry ingredients in a bowl anyway, I'll just whisk them together rather than dragging out the sifter or strainer.
4. If you were to indulge in a peanut butter sandwich, what would you have with it? Strawberry jam? Grape jelly? Cheese?
Mmmm... so many possibilities! I'd have trouble picking just one. At the moment it would probably be strawberry jam, since I just made some recently. In the past I always enjoyed my homemade apricot jam and another favorite is apple butter. I love Chuck's idea of bananas and will have to give that a try soon. Here's one that might not have occurred to you, but which is (trust me) delicious: thinly sliced dill pickles. Really!
5. When loading the dishwasher, do you think the spoons and forks should go up (handle down) or down?
I think we're all in agreement on this one - handles down!
Thanks to Mari, Leigh, Zarah, Nupur and Chuck for taking the quiz - I've really enjoyed reading your responses!
- Creamy Scrambled Eggs Recipe
I'm not the first to notice the meditative state that sometimes comes about while cooking. When you are completely focused on what you are doing it's easy to get all those pesky thoughts out of your head. But there is another mental state that...
- 45 Pounds Of Butter Later...
Honestly, I was afraid it was going to be more than that, but even at 45 pounds, that's 180 sticks of butter - more than one stick per recipe! Here's a few more numbers to marvel at: 210 eggs256 cups of flour (and that doesn't even include...
- Mondays With Maida
I’ve written before about what a great book Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Cookies is – last week when I made her Chocolate and Peanut Butter Ripples and back in August when I made her Plain Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies and Cobblestones. Please...
- I Should Be Safe From Vampires...
A Rosemary and Garlic Braid. Five bulbs of garlic, roasted in a pan with chopped fresh rosemary (from the four foot tall plant near the front porch!), and olive oil. The paste is mixed with nine (ish) cups of flour, lots of yeast, heated milk, water...
- Sweetcorn Fritters For The Girls
So I think we all know that guy by now - his big, boyish smile, his brightly colored cookbooks. Yes, it's Bill Granger again. I've made these a dozen times, and I've loved them each and every time - and I'm not that big a fan of corn,...