hipsterhousewife's Profile

Digsapony, I get sick reading on the bus, too :( Right now the half-hour bus part of my commute involves sitting and staring while I drink my coffee, unless it's a day my friend catches the same bus as me, in which case we try and cram everything we've missed in each others' lives into 15 minutes. I love reading-- maybe podcasts/books on tape...?

There's an oxtail stew I make that calls for carrots and is supposed to be garnished with parsley, but as long as I get my hands on carrots with tops still attached I'll use the chopped carrot tops instead. Feels like a more cohesive dish and adds a lovely, much-needed herbal bite to an otherwise heavy stew.

Asparagus is great! But it can be terrible when it's out of season or just isn't fresh enough. Look for it at the farmer's market, if you can, but if you're getting it at the supermarket look for stalks that have the cut ends stuck down in ice (I know Whole Foods does this, and I've seen other stores do it as well)-- when you pick up a bunch, the cut ends should look fresh and somewhat translucent, not white, fibrous and dried out. Store them in the fridge in an inch or so of ice water and try to cook them as quickly as possible after buying! I usually cut mine on the bias in 2-inch pieces and saute briefly in butter and olive oil with salt and pepper, maybe a little garlic, but you don't want them to get mushy. Top with a little fresh parmesan. Steamed asparagus with hollandaise is good, too, but I find my asparagus usually ends up rubbery when I steam it.

For green beans, I'll just mix them into things sometimes (like a stir fry or pot pie), but for Thanksgiving I made a green bean casserole with lightly steamed haricots verts and chanterelle mushrooms sauteed with butter, garlic, shallots and heavy cream (adding the cream the last minute or so on the stove)-- just dumped the mushroom mixture on top of the green beans after cooking-- and I pretty much forgot the green beans were even there. It was fantastic.

Been wanting to try this Martha Stewart recipe for mussels cooked in butter, saffron & wine-- note that saffron is not fat soluble, so soaking it in the wine first before adding it to the butter allows the color and flavor to infuse the dish. http://www.marthastewart.com/951456/steamed-mussels-wine-and-saffron

@KittyWrangler-- If I'm working out in the morning, I'll either wait to eat anything until after I work out (except coffee and water, that is), or I'll drink a protein smoothie with whey and egg white protein powder, banana, tumeric and other wonderful things. My favorite after-workout snack, though, is beef jerky and coconut water, which my gym conveniently sells at the front desk. Perfection.

I have no problem with all the fridge and closet shots-- part of what I like about AT is the interviews/insight into the owner/renter, rather than just seeing one generic, well-styled home after another. (And these personal shots were kind of a nice change of pace from the usual 8+ requisite shots of the person's dog.)

I'm digging the sleek bachelor vibe, John, and I'm dying to know where the clock on your media console came from. Also you're reminding me to pick up some Hendrick's...

Perfect Being John Malkovich reference. Love the whole thing.

@sweettooth101, I don't see why old, already-beginning-to-shrivel grapes wouldn't work with this recipe-- seems like a great use for them (I never manage to finish a bunch of grapes before they start to wither).

Vegetarian Times has a recipe for a salad with roasted grapes, toasted walnuts, and... blue cheese, maybe? It's fantastic.

And @archie29, I don't think there's a back button built into the website (as you found, "main" will take you back to the beginning), so I'd just use the back button on your web browser.

I'm moderately lactose intolerant, so while I can tolerate small amounts of aged cheese, as well as sheep's/goat's milk, I've become quite enamored of subbing avocado for cheese on things like sandwiches and chili-- you get the creaminess and the fat with none of the pesky milk sugars.

As far as baking, non-dairy milks and oil can usually be subbed passably for milk and butter, but it may take some experimenting to come up with the right consistency and flavor. I'll echo the sentiment: Don't be afraid of vegan/gluten-free baking! I love dairy, eggs and wheat, and eat all of them to some degree, but find that Whole Foods' vegan donuts blow their dairy-and-egg counterparts out of the water... and almond flour has totally won me over as a wheat flour replacement (for pancakes, waffles, cakes and muffins in particular).