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stringends
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3:07 PM
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Labels: bread and baking, the self and life things
Posted by
stringends
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10:35 AM
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Posted by
stringends
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3:55 PM
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Labels: bread and baking
Posted by
stringends
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2:48 PM
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Posted by
stringends
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12:46 PM
7
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stringends
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9:42 AM
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Posted by
stringends
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7:59 AM
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thick grey and white sripes.
5'' x 69.5''
100% merino wool
$25
Posted by
stringends
at
7:49 AM
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Labels: crochet
my favorite season of all. i love making and wearing them, and this year i'm going to try selling them again to make a little bit of money while i'm still between-employment. here's the first of the season, a green checkered scarf made of acrylic and wool. it's Light green & dark green checker crochet scarf. Measures 53 in. (134.5 cm) x 5.5 in. (14 cm). i'll be selling them on etsy. this scarf is listed here.
Posted by
stringends
at
9:20 AM
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Labels: crochet
i never exactly introduced this blog. mostly because no one reads it, also because not even i'm sure what i'm doing with it. i'm not exactly a blog person, but i decided to make one for myself... to write anything going on in my life. well it turns out, most of what's going on in my life is what i'm cooking.
right now i'm trying to save up for culinary school (very unsuccessfully), but in the meantime i'm experimenting in the kitchen for myself. i hope to be a baker one day, so most of my interest is in baking, especially breads, but i also try a lot of other foods. it's fun to experiment in a kitchen without meat. i try to make my dishes creative yet simple... delicious though inexpensive.
this lemon broccoli pasta is what we made last night. it's very simple to make but the flavors blend so perfectly. it's the first time we've made it but it will not be the last. i love making a type of pasta on sunday night so that there'll be leftovers for lunch the next day.
Posted by
stringends
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10:53 AM
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Labels: food and recipes, pasta, the self and life things
Posted by
stringends
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10:43 AM
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Labels: bread and baking, food and recipes
i thought i'd make some breadsticks tonight to go along with our pizza, but breadsticks turned into garlic knots, and of course, now these are one of my favorite things ever.
i used the recipe i made for breadstsicks except i used 1/4 tsp yeast and let it sit longer (about 3-4 hours). mainly, i let it sit so long because i was concerned it wasn't rising, but it turns out it doesn't need to rise up very much. you want it to feel soft when you poke it, but not much else. they rise more while in the oven.
after letting it rise, i cut the dough into 8 pieces then rolled them out and tied them into knots. don't work the dough too much or it'll absorb the oil from when it was sitting in the bowl rising. toss the garlic knots with garlic powder, fresh ground sea salt, basil, and whatever other spice or seasoning you would like to add.
here are the breadsticks before:
and after:
Posted by
stringends
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3:25 PM
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Labels: bread and baking, food and recipes
this has become a staple in our house because it's so easy to make and take for lunch. we usually make it the night before and store it in the fridge or freezer.
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cans black beans
seasonings
1 tbsp red chili powder
shredded cheese
sour cream
mash or grind in a food processor 1 can of black beans (with the water). combine with the broth and other can of black beans (with the water). add the seasonings (i use salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder. you could use salsa instead of red pepper flakes or fresh minced garlic if you prefer) and red chili powder. if you know anything about how i cook mexican food, you know i use only new mexican chili powder. it has a unique flavor and i can't imagine using anything else, but you can use whichever kind you'd like.
let the soup simmer over low to medium-low heat for at least one hour or until it's the consistency you like it to be. if you're keeping it in the fridge overnight, leave it a little less thick than you want it because it'll thicken more overnight. top with cheese and sour cream.
Posted by
stringends
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9:19 AM
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Labels: food and recipes
ok, this is obsessive, i know. but i had the idea and i had to try it. it's way easy, especially compared to the real piadinis, which take a long time and has dough that's hard to handle.
Posted by
stringends
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6:08 PM
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Labels: bread and baking, dog treats, food and recipes, piadinis, the pups
Posted by
stringends
at
9:38 PM
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Labels: food and recipes
feta loves these muffins so much. when ever he sees me going to get one for him, he'll be perfectly obedient until it's his. and i love making them for him... they're healthy treats that give variety to his diet and they're vegetarian (i have no problems with feeding him dog food and treats with meat in them, but there's no way i'm buying meat and handling it to make homemade pup treats!). even our pup, who has a sensitive stomach, can handle these. but of course, watch out for any allergic reactions your dog might have to any of the ingredients. i did a step-by-step picture thing with this one... mostly out of boredom.
1 c oat flour or unbleached whole wheat flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp oil (canola or sunflower)
1/4 c. + 2 tbsp. skim milk
Preheat your oven to 425. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, rolled oats, cinnamon, and baking soda.
In a smaller bowl, mix together the egg, honey, and oil. I find it helps to warm the honey a little first.
Mix the milk into the flour mixture, then add the egg mixture. Scoop the mixture into a mini muffin pan (or regular sized muffin pan... we use the mini muffin pan because they make for a good sized treat for a small dog).
Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before giving to your dog.
Makes 18 mini muffins. Store leftover muffins in the freezer for freshness, and microwave for 5-9 seconds each to thaw. Remember, when feeding these to your pup, adjust their diet so as not to overfeed (though, once feta has one of these, he has no interest at all in his puppy food!)
Posted by
stringends
at
9:41 AM
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Labels: bread and baking, dog treats, food and recipes, the pups
okay, so he's still little, but he's grown! not only that, but his face looks older... he's turning into a dog. so i started looking back at older pictures... how tiny he was! when we first got him, he was 1.7 pounds. here's a month-by-month memory lane...
june (day we took him home)
july
august
september
october (today)
at what point do we have to stop calling him "pup pup"?
Posted by
stringends
at
12:45 PM
3
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Labels: the pups
it feels like months since i started my mission to alter my bread recipe to crusty & soft perfection, and now i finally have a success. All bread recipes i've tried before were either wonderfully crusty yet too dense inside, or incredibly soft inside.... but also soft outside :| I finally got a good balance, tweaked it a bit more, and voila! i can't imagine wanting to buy a loaf of bread from the grocery store ever again. This is for one loaf of bread, but you can easily double it.
what you'll need:
1 c. warm water
2 tbsp honey (or granulated sugar)
1 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2/3 c. whole wheat flour
2 - 2 1/3 cup all purpose flour
corn meal
1 eggwhite
1 tbsp water
Begin by dissolving the honey or sugar in 1/2 c warm water. Add the yeast and stir until mixed. Let the mixture sit to proof until the yeast becomes creamy and foamy.
After the yeast has proofed, mix in the salt and vegetable oil. Mix the wheat flour then 2 cups white flour 1/2 c. at a time. Knead in the last 1/2 cup of white flour on your work surface. If the dough is too soft to form, add up to 1/3 c. flour.
Place in a well oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover and let rise 3 times (for 45 minutes to 1 hour each), each time, deflating the dough and turning over. The last rise is optional.
After the last rise, knead lightly to get rid of trapped gas bubbles and shape onto a pan sprinkled with corn meal. Cover and let rise another hour.
When your bread is ready to bake, make an egg glaze with the egg white and water and brush onto the top of your bread. Make a few slits along the top with a sharp knife. Bake the bread on the bottom rack of an oven pre-heated to 425 for 25-30 minutes. To give more moisture, and make the bread crustier, either place a pan filled with water in the oven while the bread bakes -or- spray the bread with a clean water bottle filled with water before placing it in the oven, then again halfway through baking.
Posted by
stringends
at
3:40 PM
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Labels: bread and baking, food and recipes
Posted by
stringends
at
12:01 PM
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Labels: food and recipes
i've never made lasagne before and i have no idea why! this was insanely easy (though slightly time consuming). I made a quick marinara sauce (cheating and using a can of tomato sauce), and added some frozen spinach and leftover broiled eggplant cut into chunks. I start by sauteeing the yellow onion (diced finely) in vegetable oil over medium heat until they turn clear and start to carmelize. In the last minute or so of cooking the oinons, add minced garlic. Add the tomato sauce and tomatoes and let simmer. Add the eggplant and spinach (sauteed to remove moisture).
For the eggplant, I cut them into circles about 1/2 inch thick or thinner. Sprinkle with kosher salt and let them sit for at least 20 minutes. The salt pulls out some of the moisture in the eggplant which is bitter. Mine were broiled (coat in olive oil, broil 10 minutes, flip and broil on the other side for 15 minutes) which i think gives it a deeper flavor, but they should do fine if you just sautee them on each side for a few minutes.
The cheese mixture is simple. Mix the ricotta and half of the mozzarella with 1 egg. For the lasagne noodles, because the sauce is a tiny bit watery, i only cooked the noodles a little more than halfway (if the package says cook for 9 minutes, cook for abotu 5 or 6).
First, put a tiny bit of sauce in the bottom of the caserole dish to coat the bottom. Then place 3-4 noodles in the pan, overlapping a little bit. Spread a thick layer of cheese on top of the noodles, then another layer of sauce. Add more noddles, and repeat until the dish is full. The last layer should be tomato sauce followed by the other half of the mozzarella, and a little parmesan.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 425, then another 10 with the foil off. You should probably let the lasagne cool a little before cutting, but if you can't wait, i understand! this stuff is yummm!
the sauce ingredients
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 - 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large can of tomato sauce
2 medium sized tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 tsp sugar
salt
pepper
basil
oregano
red pepper flakes
1 eggplant, salted, rinsed, broiled, and cut
cut spinach, sauteed over medium heat to reduce moisture
the cheese mixture ingredients
15 oz ricotta cheese
1/4 lb mozzarella, shredded
1 egg
the topping:
1/4 lb mozzarella, shredded
parmesan cheese
Posted by
stringends
at
9:01 AM
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Labels: food and recipes, pasta
mmmm! this was so good, and pretty simple. to prepare, we steamed broccoli (halfway, leaving it slightly undercooked because it'll cook more in the oven), seeded and chopped tomatoes), pitted and diced black olives, made my marinara sauce, and sliced mozzarella cheese. after baking the crust on its own, i let it cool a bit then added the sauce, cheese, and toppings. along the crust, i brushed olive oil then sprinkled some dried spices. after adding the spices, i baked it ad 375 for about 14-17 minutes straight on the rack. ok ok, here's the pizza dough recipe. i used wheat flour, which took about 2 1/2 c. flour but if we weren't on this no white flour thing, i would use about 1 c. wheat flour and the rest white (though you'll have to use a little more than 1 1/2 c.... i haven't worked out the measurements).
Pizza Crust
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)
1 tbsp white sugar
1 c. warm water
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 1/2 c. wheat flour
Stir sugar and yeast with warm water to dissolve. Stir in salt and olive oil. Add flour about 1/2 c. at a time. Turn onto floured surface to knead for about 8-10 minutes. Let rise in an oiled bowl, covered with a damp cloth, until doubled (30 minutes to an hour). Shape onto pan and poke a few holes into crust with a fork. Bake at 400 for 7-10 minutes.
Posted by
stringends
at
8:42 PM
1 comments
Labels: bread and baking, food and recipes
Posted by
stringends
at
1:15 PM
2
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Labels: bread and baking, food and recipes
Posted by
stringends
at
12:57 PM
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Labels: food and recipes
yum yum yummmm... i'm so very proud of this recipe cause i made all myself. well, with some breadstick guidance from other recipes. but this dough is all mine. and it's wonderful. they are so soft and each piece pulls apart so delicately. you can do whatever you want with them also. here, i sprinkled garlic powder on top before baking, but i think next time i'll also add some parmesan cheese. maybe after they're done, put a light coat of olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings (basil? oregano? maybe even paprika?!). my main issue was with shaping them. ahem... the recipe (a work in progress):
the ingredients:
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/3 c. warm water
2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c. milk
3 tbsp. butter (melted) or olive oil
1 3/4 c. all purpose (or bread) flour
the method:
Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, milk, and butter or oil. Add flour 1/2 c. at a time. Turn the dough onto a well floured surface (dough should be very soft). Knead, then place into an oiled bowl; turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let dough rise about 1 hour.
Shape the dough and place on a baking sheet sprayed lightly with oil. Cover again with damp cloth and let rise about 30 minutes. Add garlic powder or grated parmesan cheese if you want, and bake in oven (preheated to 375 degrees F) for 15-18 minutes.
voila! please try them and let me know what you think ;)
Posted by
stringends
at
8:53 PM
1 comments
Labels: bread and baking, food and recipes