Monsters of Aberdeen
We're hoping to take Steve's muppets to the Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire
this April. Filling in the forms now. Wish us luck!
We're hoping to take Steve's muppets to the Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire
this April. Filling in the forms now. Wish us luck!
Last sittable sunny patches until Spring.
As of this moment, I have sold three copies of my shawl pattern, as well as the original shawl. I transferred my PayPal balance over to Pudsey so it will be counted in tonight's total.
Friday's dinner was venison burgers with wedges and buttered greens.
The burgers were one of Jamie's clearance acquisitions from the freezer, and I also found some homemade rolls in there. I sauteed some leeks and finely shredded spring greens, and put them directly on my burger. Jamie had them on the side. But the best part was the potato wedges.
Best Wedges Ever
500g potatoes, well scrubbed
1 T vegetable oil
any combination paprika, oregano, cumin, chili powder to taste
salt and pepper
1 T semolina flour
Slice the potatoes lengthwise into wedges about 1/2 inch thick. (Don't bother peeling them.) Lay the slices out on a tea towel and pat dry. In a bowl, toss them with the oil and spices, and then again with the semolina. Lay out in a single layer on a tray lined with foil or parchament paper and bake at 400°F for 20-30 minutes, flipping once.
The semolina makes them extra crunchy, and has been proven over the years to be superior to both regular flour and cornmeal. They are excellent with ketchup, sweet chilli sauce, or (my favourite) savoury onion and thyme applesauce.
Thursday's dinner was red spaghetti. We had it with a particularly good baguette I brought home from the Wee Boulangerie, and dipping oil mixed with some of Mom's spice blend.
Red Spaghetti
1/2 small onion, sliced thinly
a few sundried tomatoes in oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch ruby chard, leafy parts only
salt and pepper
spaghetti
Put the spaghetti on to boil Chop up the tomatoes and put them into a cold pan, then turn the heat to medium-high. When they start to sizzle, throw in the onions and cook until they are soft and translucent. Meanwhile, chop up the chard into thin slices. When the onions are ready, throw in the garlic and stir through. Add the chard and stir-fry, moving it around so that all the pieces wilt evenly. The spaghetti will be done about now, so put it with a splash of its cooking liquid into the pan and stir to combine. Salt and pepper to taste.
I like this recipe because the sauce cooks in the time the pasta would boil anyway, so it takes about fifteen minutes all told. I've used same technique for spinach and spring greens, and it is always delicious.
Wednesday's dinner was salmon and bulgar wheat pilaf.
I had planned cous cous, but realised at the last moment that I was out, so I topped up my vegetables with bulgar wheat. I baked the salmon with slices of lemon I had reserved from making my lemon yogurt bundt cake.
This is one of those recipes I pull out again and again. It doesn't contain butter, so it requires no softening or creaming, so it's a super-quick cake. It's based on a traditional French gâteau au yaourt.
Lemon Yogurt Bundt Cake
2 eggs
1 C yogurt
1 C sugar
1/3 C vegetable oil
zest of one lemon
2 C flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
Icing: Half a cup of icing sugar mixed with the juice of one lemon, just enough to make pourable.
Beat together everything up to the zest, then fold in the dry ingredients. Pour batter into a well-buttered bundt tin and bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before turning out. Ice only when fully cool. Most delicious the second day.
I made another batch of Melting Moments this afternoon, but this time I substituted a tablespoon of cocoa powder for the same amount of flour. I dub them Cocomoments. I have decided they were better cool than warm, which defies expectations.
But they made a picturesque tea for Jamie:
Sunday is a day for dozing next to the fire with one's cat.
And for making chicken pot pie, which is an excercise in combinatorics: