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I've been a busy lady this week. We've had a guest in town since Friday, which meant that Thursday was spent tidying the apartment. I also cooked Jesse's birthday dinner and cake on what proved to be the hottest day of the summer yet. We had pesto pasta, fresh corn, and pan seared sausages. I think it was one of the best batches of pesto that I've made to date. Also, the overheated kitchen was totally worth the effort because the cake was delicious.
Usually, Jesse requests a carrot cake or something chocolate. However, due to the heat we had quite a few overripe bananas sitting around. So, he thought a banana cake with dark chocolate frosting sounded divine (and so did I). That is until I found a recipe for Banana Layer Cake with Caramel Cream and Salted Pecans. I broke the news that his cake would not contain chocolate this year and he took it rather well after I let him taste the banana caramel sauce for the whipped cream.
Each layer of cake is dotted with lime and rum and the caramel banana cream is spread on top. The caramel cream is out of this world! I made two 9-inch cakes and sliced them horizontally. I only assembled three layers of the cake, because there are only two of us. We cut the fourth layer into dessert-sized pieces for later use with fresh berries and stored them in the freezer. Even after downsizing the cake, there is way too much leftover. We've been snacking on it since Friday and aren't even half-way finished. Good thing that it keeps getting better with age! I'm thinking next time, I'll cut the recipe by half and make them into cupcakes. MMM.
This week is going to be another busy one. I start my class today, which kicks off approximately four weeks of intensive study on Monday through Thursday. I can't wait!
As we're nearing the end of Jesse's week-long birthday fest, I decided to cook something new for dinner. The criteria was simple: anything not involving the oven. I had some fresh kale, a nice bulb of fennel along with random fresh herbs. I'm always amazed at how often Mark Bittman's blog for the New York Times syncs perfectly with my plans for weekday meals. His recent post on "More Vegetables, Less Egg" was truly an inspiration for the height of fresh vegetable season. Also, I'm pretty sure this ladybug crawled out of my greens bag from the farmers market. Good luck for me!
My frittata was more or less the filling from the Greek Mixed Green Pie that I made back in June -- a bulb of fennel sliced thin, 2 bunches of kale, a bunch of dill, a bunch of scallions, and 1/2 cup of feta cheese. I used three eggs, which in Jesse's mind did not constitute a "frittata." He put on his skeptical face as he poked around the kitchen while the "frittata" was cooking, but agreed after the first bite that it was tasty -- as long as I didn't try to pass it off as an actual fritatta.
I have to admit, my relationship with fennel in the past has been a shaky one. When sliced fresh, the bulb closely resembles the smell of licorice -- one of those foods (can you call it a food?) for me that triggers an instant gag reflex. However, when browned with a little scallion and butter, it is a delectable treat. I have Jesse's Mom to thank for fennel's second chance in my life. She makes delicious pasta with Italian sausage, fennel, (tomatoes?) and not much else. It is outstanding.
Anyway, the "frittata" was not the prettiest dish to photograph, but it certainly made up for its lack of appearance in taste. We paired it with fresh corn (on the cob for Jesse, cut off the cob for me) a few slices of sourdough bread, and a tasty Belgian beer, Scaldis. The feta melted and browned just a little to make a nice crust on the bottom, and the slight bite of the kale was balanced out by the sweet fennel and onions. Definitely a keeper! I'm actually quite excited to try the recipe again with an entirely new set of vegetables and herbs. Perhaps potatoes, bell pepper and thyme next time? The possibilities are endless.
Since we were in the middle of packing up our apartment last year on Jesse's birthday, I decided to try and make his 31st a little better than his 30th. I took him on a surprise trip to Forest Grove, which is only about 40 minutes outside of Portland. While he knew that we were going for an overnight trip earlier in the week, he didn't find out the exact destination until Sunday morning. We loaded up our bikes in the car, packed sandwiches, water and snacks, and headed out to McMenamin's Grand Lodge -- the start/finish point for the day. The lodge was built in 1922 and was a Masonic home until 1999, at which time McMenamins purchased the property and converted it into a hotel.
It was the perfect launching point for our bike ride, a 29-mile loop out to Henry Hagg Lake and back. We started out around 11:30am and got back to the hotel around 3pm. The ride to the lake was about 10 miles, and we passed at least three or four vineyards along the way. The old country road was a really nice route. Just after the entrance to the lake/park, we stopped to have a picnic lunch. As you can see, it was a gray afternoon, but perfect weather for riding. While the trip wasn't necessarily strenuous overall, there were several hills that made me want to fall over with my (what felt like) 95-pound bike. I love the Townie for cruising around the city, but a road bike she is not. I'm seriously thinking that when we have a little more storage space, I'll be on Craigslist scouting out a much lighter, less bulky option.
By the time we made it back to the Grand Lodge, I was soaked with sweat, but feeling good at what we accomplished. I took a quick shower, put on a fresh change of clothes and we had dinner and a couple of pints. I definitely earned my two Rubys -- a raspberry wheat beer -- with all of those hills! I had such a fun afternoon and I think we're definitely going to try and do a few more of these day-long bike trips before the summer is over!
This week has been pretty busy. With the cloud cover in Portland keeping the air nice and cool, I've been able to work on lots of projects and stepped back into the kitchen. Last night we were out late for a game night our friends' house in Sellwood. I forgot how fun Balderdash (or impromptu version) is and laughed harder than I have in quite a while. While playing games, we were treated to tasty homemade pizza and a giant cookie that blew my mind. The cookie dough reminded me a lot of the strawberry bars that we made for Jesse's office competition. Jesse's alarm went off at 7am and for some reason I was wide awake. As a result, I'm feeling like another cup of coffee might be in order to make it through the afternoon.
However, I'm excited to report that I experimented with another rice and chicken dish on Wednesday night. Ever since I received the America's Test Kitchen Best Recipes cookbook, I have tried to make a successful batch of their version of chicken, shrimp, and sausage jambalaya. After failing miserably the first three times, this was its last chance. The only reason that I kept going back for more was that the test kitchen managed to make a one-pot dish that had an insanely good flavor (most likely attributed to the addition of clam juice as part of the cooking stock) that permeated the chicken and rice. Given that the original version clearly had some rice to liquid ratio troubles, I decided to go rogue and alter the recipe entirely.
Using the knowledge I gained from my previous baked rice concoctions, along with Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen for inspiration, I managed to put together a hybrid jambalaya that was probably my best ever. This time I used brown rice and instead of cooking it on the stove, I covered the dutch oven and put it in the oven. This produced much better rice and meat results. The rice was almost perfection and the chicken fell right off the bone. I'm eating leftovers now for breakfast -- it's that' good. I picked up more fresh green beans at the farmers market and we whipped together another bean, corn, and tomato salad. It was the perfect crunchy side for the rich and savory rice. I posted the recipe online, should you care to try it yourself. Given my penchant for all things fresh and frugal, I think a quick shrimp stock would be just as tasty (or even more so) than the clam juice. (And yes, Brasilliant's Mom, you have to use the shrimp stock or clam juice. The flavor is subtle, but totally makes the dish.)
Today, I am off again to run errands and have a giant sewing project that I'm trying to finish before my class starts on July 20th. I feel a push to get a lot of things accomplished this week and next, because the end of July and all of August will be so busy that I'm afraid it will go entirely too quickly!
Dinner on Monday was sort of off the cuff. I didn't have a recipe in mind and since I didn't go to the farmers market on Saturday, we were seriously low on vegetables. So, I walked over to the grocery store and just meandered through the produce section to see what was in season. I'm extremely excited that the first crop of corn is showing up. And it's so cheap! I got four ears last night for under $2. For dinner, we had whole wheat pasta with collards, andouille sausage, and mushrooms tossed with a simple fresh tomato sauce. On the side, Jesse threw together a bean salad with tomatoes, garlic, red onion, the fresh corn, and a dijon vinaigrette. Summer at it's best!
Tuesday morning, we finished off the remaining blueberries and peaches over blueberry pancakes with a little maple syrup. I made Jesse to promise to wake me up just before his 7am conference call (and just after making coffee of course) so I could prep the batter and slice the fruit. We made a pact to go out running in the late morning, so I decided we needed a good hearty breakfast as fuel. I wasn't terribly excited when 6:50am rolled around, but I'm glad now that I managed to get out of bed.
Today I am off to run errands, practice German, and do more research on our trip in September. Now that we have a hotel for our first two nights in Brussels, I feel that planning will be a lot more fun. Also, I'm anxiously awaiting my textbook's arrival for the class that I start in just a couple of weeks. I'm contemplating reading ahead to get a start on my coursework. We'll see if that actually happens, but since the class is only four weeks, I have a feeling things will be very intense on Monday through Thursday. If I can get ahead a little of the reading from the start, I think it will be a lot more manageable.
Usually, Jesse requests a carrot cake or something chocolate. However, due to the heat we had quite a few overripe bananas sitting around. So, he thought a banana cake with dark chocolate frosting sounded divine (and so did I). That is until I found a recipe for Banana Layer Cake with Caramel Cream and Salted Pecans. I broke the news that his cake would not contain chocolate this year and he took it rather well after I let him taste the banana caramel sauce for the whipped cream.
