Pink and Purple Potatoes

Pink and purple potatoes
Originally uploaded by Died of Ennui

They are potatoes! And they are PINK and PURPLE!

I've seen purple potato chips before (why do they call them "blue"?) but never the actual potatoes.

I got these from my CSA. When I scrubbed the dirt off them, the purple ones had almost black skin. I was not expecting the insides to be purple. And I was really not expecting the red-skinned ones to be pink inside.

They made me happy.

Shake Shack!

My first-ever Shake Shack meal! And we only waited in line for 50 minutes! (Ha!)

In my hand there is the Shack Burger. I also had fries and the "Fair Shake," a vanilla-and-coffee milkshake. Yes, it was all as good as they say. The burger was delicious, just the right level of greasy without being gross, and the bun was sweet and complemented the burger. The shake was awesome. But the fries - the fries were superlative. They tasted like potatoes and not like grease, yet they were perfectly crispy.

It is now five and a half hours later, and I'm not even slightly hungry.

It's Peanut Butter Ice Cream Time!

I haven't given the ice cream maker much of a workout yet this summer. I made rhubarb ice cream a few weeks ago, and it tasted okay but the texture wasn't right. I think there wasn't enough of it to fill the ice cream maker and so it didn't churn very well. Anyway, here's the second batch of ice cream this summer - Philadelphia-style (no eggs) peanut-butter ice cream. I've mostly only made custard-based ice cream because, early on, I found that the eggless kind left a weird kind of film in my mouth. But I think that may have been my first-ever batch of ice cream so it hardly counts. So I'm giving it another shot, partly because it's easier and takes less time. It's setting in the freezer now, and I'm going to take it to a girls' night get-together later (leaving some at home for myself, of course!). I also made chocolate syrup to go with it. Chocolate and peanut butter might be the best thing ever. Ever.

CSA Fritatta

My first CSA share involved a LOT of greens. I made a fritatta.

1 fresh garlic shoot, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
approx. 1 lb mixed greens, roughly chopped
4 eggs
olive oil
salt and pepper

Boil a large pot of water. Blanch greens for 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and plunge into ice water or run cold water over them.

Saute garlic and scallion in olive oil over medium heat in a 10-inch skillet.

While they are sauteing, pick up handfuls of the greens and squeeze as much water out as possible. Chop the greens a bit more. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and add greens and salt and pepper.

Pour greens and egg mixture into skillet and give a stir to distribute garlic and scallions. Cover and cook over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Flip the fritatta (plate over skillet method, or whatever works for you) and cook another 3 minutes or so.

Slide onto serving plate, cut into wedges.

Sisters

Sisters
Originally uploaded by Died of Ennui

The kitties were a bit traumatized by the move. When they were just too tired to follow me around, they curled up together. They get along quite well anyway, but they don't usually sleep together unless they are cold. Or freaked out.

Homeownership

I bought a coop, and here I am signing my life away.

Pat's King of Steaks

I love Philly
Originally uploaded by Died of Ennui

I drove to Philly last Saturday with a friend to attend a baby-blessing event. Yes, we all know I hate babies, and blessings I can take or leave, but it was good friends and their lovely family. And it was in Philly, where they have cheesesteak.

Sadly, the cheesesteak (wit' Whiz, of course) rendered me too full to avail myself of the lovely food at the reception following the blessing, although I did manage to shovel in a few brownies.

Baked Rotini

laptop lunch 090331
Originally uploaded by Died of Ennui

Baked Rotini

12- or 13-oz box of whole wheat pasta

12 oz sausage (I used spicy Italian chicken sausage)
1 large onion, chopped
1 or 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
10-oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed if you have time
1 lb fresh mozzarella, cubed
8 oz part skim (processed) mozzarella, grated
2 28-oz cans tomatoes (crushed, diced, chopped, whatever you like)
oregano, thyme, basil, salt, pepper

Brown sausage, breaking up. Set aside. Saute onion. Add mushrooms when the onions start to turn translucent. Add the garlic whenever. Add some of the herbs; you can put more in later. Add the spinach; if it's still frozen, give it a poke every now and then until it's thawed and separated. Add the canned tomatoes. Add more herbs if you need to. Put the sausage back in. Let it simmer a little while, then remove from heat.

Cook pasta until just underdone. Drain and mix with sauce and cubed fresh mozzarella.

Spread out into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover with grated mozzarella.

Bake at 350F, covered, for 15 mins. Uncover and bake another 15 mins.

Baked bacon

The results of my bakin' bacon experiment: a success! Laid it out on a baking sheet and put it in a 400-degree oven for 12-ish minutes. It doesn't curl up. I slightly undercooked it so that when retrieved from the freezer for later usage, it can be given a quick fry to warm up and get crispy without getting burned. It needs to be drained really well, as it's just sitting there in a pool of its own grease, but once you put the bacon aside to drain, be sure to pour that lovely, tasty bacon fat into a jar and keep in the fridge. After the bacon drained and cooled, I just put it in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer.

Bakin' Bacon

Since I most often cook for one (me), a pound of bacon is a bit of a hassle. I'll fry up a few slices and usually freeze the rest. The next time I need (want) a few slices, I have to defrost it and then refreeze what's left. And I'm not sure freezing and refreezing is such a good idea. Even if it's not a health risk (ha - get it? bacon? not a health risk?), it's probably not good for the texture (I watch Good Eats).

So...I decided to see if there was a way to cook the entire pound without covering my kitchen in grease and then freezing the cooked bacon. Guess what? You can BAKE bacon! It's brilliant!

Hmmm...

This blog sucks. I hardly ever update it and when I do, it's boring. I am considering making some kind of a change. Like maybe turning it into a "real" blog. You know, one where I *write* about stuff, and maybe illustrate my posts with some photographs, and maybe, just maybe, telling some people I know about it and hoping they read it to keep up with my life or be entertained by my witty and insightful ruminations on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Nah.

However, in the spirit of this blog so far, I present:

Homemade rye bread. Dough by Matt, shaping and baking by moi. Beautiful and delicious.