breezyslp's Profile

We have a croquet set and no grass in our yards (garden beds with mossy ground cover instead), so we just go to a park to play. Works a treat!

This is the same thing that has happened to tomatoes and apples and every other large agricultural crop. Consumers decided they wanted year-round tomatoes and strawberries, so growers complied. Taste is not really their concern, and judging by how big the tomato and strawberry crops are, it's not your average consumer's main concern, either. Their concern is making a berry or a fruit hardy enough to transport miles by truck. Hood strawberries can barely be transported home, let alone to another state.

Had a fabulous dinner yesterday with friends, celebrating my new job!! Bourbon-glazed pork spareribs, grilled asparagus, new fingerlings with salsa verde, and a gluten-free rhubarb and almond cake with softly whipped cream for dessert. Not bad for a last-minute celebration! Tonight will be grilled pizza with artichokes, mozzarella, and prosciutto. Spring is my favorite cooking season!

Made this lemon buttermilk rhubarb cake last weekend, and we snacked on it all week long: http://www.honeyandjam.com/2010/05/lemon-buttermilk-rhubarb-bundt-cake.html

I didn't make the glaze, but it was so good I didn't even miss it!

"Some cake flours are also bleached..." As far as I have seen, King Arthur is the only one that isn't bleached. Are there others out there?

I usually go to the grocery store at 8:00 am on a Saturday--it makes for a very enjoyable shopping experience.

Yeah, looks like a salad to me. Maybe Christine M., you have a more narrow definition of what a salad is? I think the vegetables were chosen to complement each other and to be eaten together, with a (admittedly light) dressing. Aaaaaand, it looks delicious. But I will save it for summer, when the corn and tomatoes are better-tasting.

The first time I cooked the Zuni Roast Chicken and Bread Salad, I spent the better part of the day reading and re-reading Rogers' instructions, worrying about the amount of salt I used, prepping in advance (the raisins, the bread, etc.). I was so concerned with getting it right, and I just didn't have the confidence then that I do now. I laugh at my old self now, obsessively poring over the details of the recipe, but I firmly believe that it's a necessary step in improving any skill. We need the long form when we're learning, but once we've mastered enough of them, we're free to go off in millions of directions. Throughout the week, I often change my pre-set menu based on what I'm craving, not what I wrote up over the weekend. Roast chicken breast with steamed broccoli and rice may turn into soba noodles with chunks of chicken breast and broccoli covered with a miso dressing. I do this because I have confidence in myself and I no longer need the long form. I get frustrated with people who say they never use recipes. Recipes serve an important purpose: they teach us the fundamentals of cooking. I firmly believe that a cook who can't roast a chicken or cook an omelet is not much of a cook. Not using recipes is the Cliff Notes version of cooking; we miss so much when we ignore those detailed instructions, those explanations from the masters.

Feather. I sleep with a fan running and earplugs in--the earplugs to cover up noise from the cats, the fan running to soothe and cover up my tinnitus, which is worse with the earplugs in. White noise machine is on the 'to-buy' list.

I agree with having a set time on parties. And it's not about having people over that you don't want to spend time with. It's about not being able to keep my head up past 11:00 pm. Luckily for me, most of our friends are the same way--we typically get together earlier so we have plenty of time to be together before we all turn into pumpkins.
If I want people to leave, I simply say, "I'm so sorry. I can't stay awake anymore," or something similar. It's not being rude--it's being honest.