no rest for the wicked

Dang, it's been a busy few days. Or weeks. Or months. Something like that. Good busy for the most part, but still. But, now I have a minute to settle down with my breakfast (fage 0% total greek yogurt, a handful of blueberries and a drizzle of honey--yum) and write a little something in this here blog.

First of all I'd like to sing the praises of Fred's Eggs. You can occasionally find them at the co-op, and I'd been hearing about them for a while, but had never been lucky enough to be there at the precise moment when they had some in stock. That is, until last week. I heard someone freaking out (in a good way) in front of the dairy case, and went over to inspect. Fred's Eggs! I snatched up a dozen, and I'm so glad I did. These are the premiere eggs in this here township. They're from Araucana chickens--who happen to not only be cute, but to also lay really beautiful blue eggs. And, in addition to being just lovely, the eggs were super fresh and very rich. Everything I've made with them has showcased the brilliant orange yolks and have been full of deliciousness. That's what you get when chickens are allowed to be true to their chickeny nature (paraphrasing Joel Salatin in the narrative related by Michael Pollan in The Omnivores's Dilemma). By the way, if I can convince you to do one thing this year, it would be to read The Omnivore's Dilemma. Pollan is a fantastic writer, and he takes us through the history of four meals--one from industrial agriculture, one from industrial organic agriculture, one from local, sustainable "organic", and one that he hunts and forages himself. It's fascinating, and he examines these meals from every aspect. And, while he clearly has an agenda (he's become a superstar for slowfooders and the like), he's never preachy. He's not even a vegetarian, if you're worried about him convincing you away from your favorite foods. Read him. Do it. It feels great.

Okay. Anyway, I was talking about Fred's Eggs. See for yourself:


I've done just the littlest bit of cooking the past couple of days. On Monday evening I went to Classic Book Club. I'd been on hiatus for, like, a year, and it was my first meeting back. Guess what we discussed? Ding! Ding! Ding! The Omnivore's Dilemma. I read it back in March, and was all fired up then, and now I'm all a-fire with love for it again. Since I knew it was going to be a snack-a-thon (it was), I just made a snack to take, and went hungry. I made my white bean dip again, but this time made a basil oil dressing to drizzle over it. It's easy as pie.

White Bean Dip

-some cooked white beans (I used white navy beans, soaked them overnight, and cooked them for about 50 minutes with a piece of kombu) - about 3-4 cups
-2 cloves garlic
-1 T. olive oil
-a little of the reserved cooking liquid from the beans (or the can, if you're using canned) to thin the dip to the desired consistency
-sea salt, to taste

Put it in your food processor and puree. Voila! You can also serve this as a side dish like you'd serve mashed potatoes.

...

Basil Dressing
(I just really made this by mixing and tasting, mixing and tasting, so all the amounts are approximations)

-a big handful of basil leaves, washed and patted dry (probably about a closely packed cup)
-1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
-the juice of two lemons
-1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
-1/4 c. toasted pine nuts
-sea salt and pepper to taste

So, it's just like a very thinned-out pesto sauce. Just puree it in a food processor, and just keep tasting until it's delish. Then I drizzled some on the bean dip (and have plenty leftover for salads), and served it with some sliced carrots and cucumbers.


And, last night I went over to my friend Emily's for dinner. She made possibly the best version I've ever had of Sesame Peanut Noodles (spicy-i-licious!), and we had a little white wine (contributed by the other guest, Susheela, who I met for the first time last night) and I brought dessert, a baked lemon custardy thing. I googled for the recipe, and I totally forget where I ended up finding it, so sorry I'm not crediting you, Random Person On The Internets. But, it was really easy and really tasty. I forgot to take a picture, and it's all long gone. But, here's the recipe:

Baked Lemon Custard

2 T. butter, softened
1 C. sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 T. flour
juice and grated zest of 1 1/2 lemons
2 C. evaporated milk
1 t. lemon extract

Cream butter and sugar. Stir in egg yolks, 1 at a time. Add flour, juice and zest. Add milk and lemon extract. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gently fold lemon mixture into egg whites. Pour into a buttered 10-inch pie plate.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Bake 1 hour until brown and firm. Let cool slightly. Consistency is between a custard and soufflé. Cut in wedges and serve warm. [ek note: it didn't really hold up in wedge-shapes, it was more like a blob. maybe if you chilled it first? but, it was so good warm.]

I forgot to bring lunch today, and my thoughts have turned to my faithful friend the java fried rice from Spice Island Tea House. I texted my friend Susie to try to talk her into going with me, but didn't hear back, and am thinking I might just hold out and maybe order it when I leave work, and pick it up on the way home. Except it's in the wrong direction since I need to go pick up my CSA, then go meet Ellen at the pool (unless it's thunderstorming then). Hmmm...should I just go now? I'm hungry thinking about it...

again, the weekends kick the non-weekends' collective asses

As always, the weekend rocked and Monday is the object of my anti-desire. But, I actually came in to work to a really nice email from one of the guys I support that he sent to my supervisor, my boss and my boss's boss about what a number one, right on employee I am. Sweet! That was really nice. And, I got a super-sweet email from a friend via myspace. Monday is really trying. I'll give it that.

But, but, but! The weekend was super-duper. And, I, for one, enjoy super-duper. Friday I went a-dogsitting in Squirrel Hill. He's a sweet little guy. And, I ran out for some errands, and to go see my friend Bob Snyder's opening at Gallerie Chiz. He makes these awesome little paintings on wood that are just amazing. He even did a portrait of me a couple years ago, and I cherish it. We used to work together, and I hadn't seen him in a while, so it was really fun to catch up and also see my pal Alan and his wife Heather who we also used to work with. A nice little reunion. Good times. (AH - They asked about Hurdcakes, too, fyi).

Saturday was more dogsitting, then off to the annual Gist Street Cook-Out. Even though it was the seventh annual cook-out it was my first, and it was AWESOME. Bringing two of my great loves--authors/books and food--together. Ellen and I both made Heidi dishes. I made the sprout burgers--this time with an Italian twist--used lots of basil from my front-step plants, sundried tomatoes and parsley. Yum. And, E-dawg made Heidi's kabobs with muhummara slather. Hot damn. Actually, when we were leaving one of the grill guys said, "Whoa! That sauce was intense! We put it on everything!" of the slather. And, it was--tangy and spicy and delicious. Yum. Thanks, Heidi! And, I actually won something from the raffle this month! I've never won before. I won a set of notecards by a glass artist...whose name I'm blanking on... Anyway, a good time was had by all.

Sunday was a lazy morning with some reading, some attempted (but ultimately unsuccessful) napping and a re-watching of Election. And, a kick-ass breakfast, courtesy of Eric Gower. I made his Shirred Shittake Eggs. Oh, dang. So good. I made them with some crispy garlic homefries and oj, and it was a breakfast fit for a queen. Seriously. I'm going to make baked eggs all the damn time now. I forgot to bring the recipe, but I think I remember it:

Shirred Shittake Eggs
from Eric Gower's The Breakaway Cook

4 eggs
2 T, plus 1 t. dried shittakes, pulverized [I probably used a little over 3 T., which was about 3 dried shittake caps]
2 T. butter, plus more to coat the ramekins
sea salt and pepper
a little shredded cheese, such as gouda [ek - I used an extra-aged Beemster gouda]

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the 2 T. butter in a small skillet, and add the 2 T. of shittake. Cook for a few minutes until the butter foams up. In the meantime, coat the 2 ramekins with butter, and sprinkle in some shittake dust and shake around like coating a baking pan with flour. When the mushroom-butter mixture is ready split between the two ramekins. Break two eggs into each ramekin, top with sea salt and pepper, a little more of the shittake dust and a little shredded cheese. Place into the oven and cook for about 12-14 minutes, until there is very little movement when you shake the pan, but the yolks are still soft. Turn out onto plates with a rubber spatula.


Sunday afternoon was all about hitting the pool. Ellen and I have set a goal to try to check out all the city pools. So far we've been to:
-Riverview
-Bloomfield
-Jack Stack
-Highland Park
-Scheneley Park


And then I rolled over to the Quiet Storm for my weekly Scrabble bout with The Gooch. Once again, she cheated. That is all I have to say about that. Except that everyone should try the pina colada vegan milkshake. It is bomb.

I have a book club (Classic Book Club) tonight, and need to make a snack. I'm thinking of doing another white bean dip with basil oil. I loved the last white bean dip I made, but Hurd said it didn't have enough flavor, so the basil oil should take care of that. I love white beans. And, on Tuesday I have dinner at a friend's house, and I'm going to attempt Eric Gower's Maccha Truffles. Keep your fingers crossed!

book club (aka delicious food club) and A Huge Relief

When I got home last night I realized that I did, in fact, have a tiny bit of olive oil with which to make some white bean dip for book club, so I did it. It's the first time I've made it, but friends, it won't be the last. It was possibly the easiest thing I've ever made and was really tasty. I'd cooked the beans (great northern white beans) the night before with a piece of kombu after soaking them overnight. Kombu is a sea vegetable, and if you use a little piece in your pot o' beans it helps make them more digestible and according to The Internet is rich in protein, calcium, iodine, magnesium, iron and folate. Lower rates of breast cancers have been reported in Japanese women eating a diet high in kelp. Lignans, which help fight cancer are found in high quantity in kelp and may provide protection against certain cancers. So, good stuff. Here's the recipe for the easiest-peasiest white bean dip in the history of white bean dips:

2 c. cooked white beans, drained
a little water
a little olive oil
a little salt

In your food processor puree the beans. Add some water for the right consistency. Add a little bit of olive oil and salt to taste. Then drizzle with a little oil to finish. Serve with pita wedges or your favorite veggies.

For real. That is the simplest recipe ever. And, really delicious in its simplicity. You can serve these like you would mashed potatoes, too. Or, I was thinking of pureeing some olive oil with some fresh parsley and making a swirl. And, you could add whatever herbs you like, but I just liked the pure soft white creamy goodness. Also, low-cal and low-fat and high protein and fiber. And, yum.

You shoulda seen the table of treats at the book club last night. Peeps were throwing down! Cheesecake with mangos and white peaches! Watermelon salad! Vegan rosemary-pine nut shortbread! Zucchini muffins! Fresh fruits! Rice crispy treats! Sesame noodles! And more! I can't even remember everything because there was so much goodness. And, I stuck around long enough to be sent home with a doggie bag full of a piece of cheesecake, some watermelon salad and shortbread. Yuh-um. For reals.

Apart from the food it was just a super-fun book club. We discussed Miranda July's No One Belongs Here More Than You and most of us (all but one) felt real, serious love for this book. I adore it. It makes me happy just thinking about it. If you also like to be happy, you should see the website for this book. It's the cutest/cleverest website ever, too. I love you, Miranda July!


You know what else makes me happy? Huh? Guess. No, guess. I mean, I already told you about it, so guess. Give up?

Okay. I had my appointment with the debt counselor guy this morning, and I'd been so terrified for so long about doing this and was on the verge of tears when I sat down in this guy's office, and I'd already had a conversation with myself and given myself permission to cry if I had to because I figured that this dude had probably seen it all before, but to try not to because I'm already super stuffed-up still and it would suck to be even more stuffed up, but either way It Would Be Okay. And, you know what? It was okay. All of it. Like, I didn't even have to cry (well, not too much).

I went to Advantage Credit Counseling Service in the South Side. I'd called the United Way, and asked them for a recommendation for who to talk to, and they said that this was the only place they recommended in Pittsburgh. And, it's free. (There is a charge if you set up monthly debt consolidation payments with them, but even that is pretty cheap, but the counseling is totally free). And, they pulled my credit report, went through my monthly/yearly budget, talked about my future plans and current/desired situation, made very helpful and realistic suggestions, and the guy I saw was just a really kind, friendly guy. You should go. Ask for Justin. He's super. And, he told me about this site where you can get one free credit report per year, and it pulls from all three credit agencies (they don't let you take the one they pull; they have to shred it). Seriously, it was one of the best things I've ever done for myself. I finally got a clear picture of my debt and some good, objective advice about the best way to get to the place I want to be. To my surprise, he didn't push any services on me, and didn't even advise that trying to pay everything off right away was the best idea for me (since I'm needing to save right now for something specific). He was great. I feel so relieved. And, you know what? It wasn't as bad as I thought. My credit, I mean. I'd built it up into this horrible, scary thing that I could never hope to deal with, but I can. I have the knowledge I need now to do it. I talked to someone honestly about my real situation and the ground did not open up and swallow me whole. I didn't find a bunch of money, either, but now I know what I'm dealing with. And, the only time I cried was at the end of the meeting and that was with gratitude and relief. And, only a few tears--not nearly enough to make me stuffier.