Worst Blogger Ever

I know. I am so bad. I don't even know who it got to two months. Well, I hope my China pictures make up for it. 

I would try and describe my experiences there. I can't seem to put them into words without sounding silly, though. Maybe it is the kind of place you have to see to understand. That is exactly how it was when I went. I got on the plane not really sure what to expect. I NEVER could have expected how much fun it would be and how many wonderful friends I would make, and most of all how I have begun to understand traveling and why people do it. 

All I can say is I love it there and I miss every little part. Especially not knowing what anyone was saying.

And the food.

 Our first Breakfast at the Hutong

Fried scorpion at the night market. I ate it and it was just really salty, with that unpleasant squirt factor in the middle. 

Some great soup dumplings

Our fattest meal to date

Last meal

Recent Moments

School has been crazy lately, so my food had been mostly Girl Scout Cookies. Which I don't mind, really. 

But I did get a chance to make a nice meal with Claire the other night. 

We made this pasta with eggplant and ricotta in the summer, and were in need of a little flashback. 

Then there was the last minute Samoa Blondies which really hit the spot. 

Samoa Blondies
From The Newlywed Kitchen Cookbook


10 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 ¼ cup flour
1 ¼ cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 ¼ cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line and grease an 8×8 baking dish.
In a pan over high heat, heat the butter until it browns and smells nutty. (Keep an eye on it, so it doesn’t burn.) Let the butter cool for a few moments, until just barely warm.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. With a wooden spoon, mix in the egg, vanilla, and salt. Slowly mix in the flour, coconut, and chocolate chips until blended. Try not to eat too much of the batter.
Pour the batter into the greased baking dish, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for 25-30 minutes—do not overbake! The center should still be soft. Let the blondies cool before turning them out onto a cutting board and slicing into squares.

For Japan With Love

 A few bloggers started For Japan With Love, to help with relief efforts in Japan. Donate Here: http://forjapanwithlove.com/

The donations go to Shelter Box which sends supplies like tents, blankets, and other basic materials, to countries effected by natural disasters.

Please donate!

The Week of the Fatties

Lordy it has been a while. I haven't really had anything to say, because I haven't eaten anything too interesting.  Well, there is one exception...

Dean Street!

BEST. BRUNCH. EVER.

The fries are the definition of melt in your mouth, and the biscuits are a close tie with the biscuits from Pies n Thighs, which is saying a lot. 

Claire's eggs with bacon, a biscuit and gravy. 

My breakfast (which was really dessert). French toast with apple butter and walnuts and a lot of whipped cream.

This was just the start of the week of the fatties.

Claire and I went to my grandparent's house in Georgia, where we didn't necessarily eat the most fantastic food in the world, we just ate a lot of it. From four slices of pizza at dinner, to a milkshake before lunch and a slice of cake after. 

I didn't mean to gorge myself, it just sort of turned out that way. Having a nice break from the city allowed me to take a break from really good food, and have other foods which are also really good, just in a different way. Do you know what I mean?

Here is the view of the lake in Georgia. I took this while having a picnic of cold cut turkey sandwiches in the 70 degree whether. 

Recent Moments

I can't say life has been full of action. Lately, I have been studying for and taking midterms. I have been eating a lot of pasta to try and satisfy my mid-winter blues, and dealing with a broken refrigerator. I've also been enjoying snow days with hot chocolate and coconut bread. 

Steak frites on a cold night. 

Going to City Bakery for the hot chocolate and pretzel croissants. 

This takes sweet and salty to a new level.

Coconut bread for an afternoon snack. 

Coconut Bread

via seven spoons
Makes one large loaf or two small loaves

Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
Seeds scraped from half a vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour, more for dusting pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup superfine sugar
5 ounces flaked coconut (around 1 1/2 cups)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Soft butter for greasing the pan

Preheat an oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla seeds. Set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the sugar and coconut. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, and slowly add the egg mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in the melted butter, being careful not to overmix.

Grease and flour a 8-by-4-inch loaf pan. Pour in the batter and bake in the preheated oven until the loaf is golden and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, around 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in its tin for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack. Position it again side up to cool a bit more.

My cat in the snow

Meal of the Day

Baconnaise is the greatest invention in the history of strange combinations. It sounds gross, but it's actually delicious. Normal mayonnaise with bacon flavor and bacon bits. 

This sandwich was my dinner last night. Toast with baconnaise, and egg sunny side up, and a few squirts of my favorite Sriracha hot sauce. 

The Ritual

I can't say I'm sad about 2010 being over. Nothing bad happened exactly, I am just ready for something new in the this year. 

For New Years Eve, my family threw a party for close friends. It consisted of fancy food I would never normally get to eat, and champagne I never get to drink. 

The oysters were a main activity, with everyone gathering around to watch my uncle Jay (and resident oyster shucker) wrestle each one open. We all talked about what we liked best on our oysters (hot sauce was strangely the most popular), and we bonded over country music. 

The second most successful part of the evening as the dessert. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but they were pretty great. 

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

From Barefoot Contessa Parties

Ingredients 

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 cups grated carrots (less than 1 pound)
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

For the frosting:

• 3/4 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat the sugar, oil, and vanilla together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the grated carrots, raisins, and walnuts to the remaining flour, mix well, and add to the batter. Mix until just combined.

Line muffin pans with paper liners. Scoop the batter into 22 muffin cups until each is 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and cook for a further 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

For the frosting, cream the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar and beat until smooth.

When the cupcakes are cool, frost them generously and serve.

After most of us had gorged ourselves with cupcakes, we did a ritual. We all wrote down the things we wanted to forget about 2010, and then burned the paper. I'm not to fond of things like this, even writing it sounds silly, but, reflecting on the year made me remember of all the great things that happened, not just the bad. 

We then wrote down what our resolutions and hopes for 2011 were, and burned those on a bed of rosemary (a failure. we soon realized rosemary isn't the most flammable herb). We took the ashes and tossed them into the snow. 

The next morning, I was happy to find a burned piece of paper with my hope for 2011. 

Eat new foods in new places.