I haven’t been inspired (or had the time) to make any muffins or quick breads for months. But I’ve been craving desserts, so tonight, I decided to take to heart Michael Pollan’s Food Rule #39: Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself. Which muffin recipe to make? I [...]
Archive for February, 2011
Slow Cooker Cook Book Reviews
There are so many slow cooker cook books! I just borrowed a bunch from the library! I wanted to jot down some notes for a few of them. Better Homes & Gardens Ultimate Slow Cooker book Better Homes & Gardens Ultimate Slow Cooker book – see my more detailed review on this book. Bottom line, [...]
Experiment: Whole Wheat, Cornmeal, Barley Sesame Seed Bread
I love experimenting with cold fermentation for developing flavorful bread dough. I started a new (for me) bread experiment yesterday, based on the technique of Peter Reinhart’s book “Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor“. In the book, Peter advises to mix both a mash and a biga, refrigerate for at least 12 hours, then [...]
Dark Chocolate
Updated: For a list of recommended chocolate brands, check http://www.foodispower.org/chocolatelist.htm. I like taking a bite of plain dark chocolate with a one or two nuts (cashews, pecans, almonds, pistachios), that way I made my own nutty chocolate bar in my mouth. Same with peanut butter. Spread a bit on top of a few dark chocolate [...]
Sunday is Plan Ahead Cooking Day
Sunday is a great day to cook ahead for the week (and beyond). Today I’m slow cooking two big pieces of yummy meat: I put a big piece of beef round into my 6 quart cast iron with 2 large purple onions and a good helping of Penzy’s BBQ 3000 spice. I added a few [...]
Better Homes & Gardens the Ultimate Slow Cooker Book
I found a copy of the Better Homes & Gardens The Ultimate Slow Cooker Book at the local library. The book includes 400 recipes, and 200+ great photos. Each recipe contains prep time, cook time, & serving information, along with nutritional data, which I really appreciate. The book is paperback, but does not easily lie [...]
Preserve Dry Measuring Cups – Plastic Made in USA
I received the set of four Preserve Dry Measuring Cups for Christmas. I wanted to replace the older plastic sets with something definitely BPA free, and Made in the USA. I found it in the Preserve measuring cups! Pros: The set of four includes 1/4-cup, 1/3-cup, 1/2-cup, and 1-cup sizes Each piece is made of [...]
Day One – Keeping Accountable
I’m going to start working out again. Making a public announcement will hopefully keep me accountable. Wii Fit this AM, good workout on the “bike” – gotta keep it up. I’m shooting for 2-3 times per week. That is reasonable and doable! I haven’t gained any weight (still 138-140), but my lower body area is [...]
California Pomelo Fruit
I always am interested in trying unique fruits. A few days ago, Whole Foods was offering Pommelo fruit on sale @ 2/$4. I’ve seen them at the grocery stores in the past, but they are usually $2.50 to $3 each. Each fruit weighs about 2 pounds, so I figured at $1/lb on sale, it was [...]
Don’t Fall for Perdue Chicken’s Bogus USDA Process Verification
I just saw the new {misleading} Perdue chicken TV commercial making a big fuss about their new USDA Process Verification. I’ve only seen the commercial once so far, so I’m going on what I remember, details are fuzzy. I’ll update when I can review the commercial again. Jim Perdue is having a press conference about [...]
