Sunday, January 14, 2007

Go Go Go!

Hi!

This weekend was full of activity. Busy! Fortunately, we received hardly any ice and our power never wavered. (Knock on wood.)

Saturday
Before the day really got started, Porkchop took a fall down our front steps because the bottom two were a bit iced over. See her livejournal or kidney blog for a gruesome photo. Ow! It seems that we have a hard time staying upright around here.

Anyway, the other big event was going to the Blues game. The owners wanted a super-good turnout because the game was broadcast nationally, so they decided to give away hot dogs, chicken tenders, popcorn, peanuts, soda, and bottled water. You see, the Blues have sucked for the past year and a half. Even with the recent turnaround with the new coach, people still aren't flocking to see them. So, free food! Again, see Porkchop's lj for more details and a photo.

After we returned home Saturday evening, I started to feel a bit icky. My cheeks flared up and I was a tired-head. Instead of going to Suzi's with Porkchop, I stayed home and didn't do much at all. I didn't feel like knitting, reading, or watching TV. What I really wanted was a picture book. Seriously! Something to occupy the no-thought part of my brain yet provide some stimulus. Instead, I fiddled around online and looked at blogs from bed.

Sunday
With nearly 12 hours of sleep, I woke up with a major sleep hangover. Murrr!

But, I quickly recovered and started to make up for lost time. First up was straightening the apartment and starting laundry. I've done at least 6 loads this weekend. Clothes, towels, sheets....it never ends.

Next, I started making lunch. This was no small task, as we were having a chicken and edamame stirfry. Yum! We were both pleased with the results. If you look at the recipe, you can see that it would work equally well with tofu instead of chicken. Maybe next time!

After lunch, I knitted a bit. The cabled scarf is slow going....it's a nice leisurely pace. Here is the scarf status as of this morning (note Keetah and her special princess pillow in the background):

keetah and her pillow


Here's a pic of me knitting. Keetah always likes to be close to the knitting action...even if the quarters are a bit crowded. (P.S. When I got up to do something, Keetah immediately stole my spot in the chair.)

hanging with keetah

After knitting and more laundry, we made deviled pesto eggs. Super-yum! We love deviled eggs!

deviled eggs

These eggs are one of our favorites because you use pesto, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese (in addition to the mayonnaise and dijon mustard). We also make a curried deviled egg recipe that is kick-ass.

Of course, some people can't take these fancy deviled eggs. Last year, Porkchop took the pesto ones to a work potluck and one of her co-workers said that they tasted like turpentine. That was before he realized that she brought them (actually, I think she told him that she brought them and he thought she was joking). Anyway, be careful about who you share your eggs with, I guess.

If you love deviled eggs as much as we do, I'll give you the recipes.

After eggs, I made cornmeal-cranberry cookies. I give these a so-so rating. They're okay, but not wow! yum! Also, I burnt the bottoms of nearly half the batch. Chalk that up to a thin baking sheet, uneven oven heat distribution, or my failure to use parchment paper. Does parchment paper have an effect on crispness? Since I didn't have the paper, I just lightly greased the pans.

Anyway, here's the picture:

cookies!

And, if you must make these, here's the recipe:

CORNMEAL-CRANBERRY COOKIES

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup dried cranberries (or cherries), finely chopped

In a medium bowl, whisk together first four ingredients. In another bowl, use a mixer to beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg, and orange zest. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients; beat until just combined. Fold in cranberries.

Transfer dough to a piece of waxed paper. Use the paper to pat the dough into a loaf, 8 inches long by 2 inches wide. Wrap in paper and refrigerate until firm (at least 1 hour).

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or grease them with butter). Cut dough crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place on baking sheets, 1/2 inch apart. Bake until cookies are firm to touch, 10-12 minutes (rotate sheets halfway through). Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.

Other Things
As requested, here's the link to the recipe for porkchops with sage-cider cream sauce. The recipe is for 1 chop; when we make the recipe for 2 chops, we do not double the sauce part because it makes quite a bit. However, if we make 3 chops, we do double the sauce part.

Also, I have tomorrow off. Yay! I already have my day planned out...exercise, Hartford Coffee for knitting, lunch, grocery store, dinner. Awesome.

Have a great week!

4 comments:

Porkchop said...

I hope your Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day is going as well as you'd hoped!

Anonymous said...

I think parchment paper is the bees' knees. Or bee's knees. I'm not sure.

I use it for almost everything for easy clean up. I don't know it's impact on crispness, but do know that I haven't had to scour a cookie pan in the past year. Just a quick rinse and dry!

I'm having tofurkey dogs and kraut at my party tonight. Wish you and porkchopper could be there.

The scarf is gorgeous!

cj

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the cookie recipe. Good job on the scarf. Cables are soooooo slow, but aren't they worth it?

Anonymous said...

check out how keetah is posed in nearly identical ways for these photos--like she's photoshopped in!

i miss keetah. so pretty. so odd.
cj