I HAVE RETURNED

HEY Y'ALL!

I was so excited when Meg decided to restart this. I really have missed updating the blawg with all the things I am trying to cook, and lately, BAKE :'( I am still no good at it.
Since the last time we were here I have let a MAN! move in with me. We are actually boyfriends/partners/civil union lovers and sometimes he likes my cooking. Due to that I have acquired a lot more fun cooking accessories that I can't wait to share with you.  And as Meg mentioned... WE HAVE iPhones! Thank god because flipping through those old posts gave me a headache. And we have a meow-meow named Harvey Milk Pantsuit Chamberlain-Howard and he is a little angel-baby from heaven.

Things that haven't changed: I am still at my job, I am still terribly broke, and I am still a professional squirrel. (taking food & produce from the office and using it as my main source of cooking ingredients)

Any who, since it is summer there is an OVER-ABBUNDANCE of tomatoes; cherry, grape, baby-roma, etc. I wish I could get some heirloom up in this bitch, but eh. Thus far I have made tomato sauces, sun-dried LOADS of tomatoes in the oven, and had a lot of salads. Any fun whack-a-do tomato ideas would be great. Every other day I come home with this many:

Unfortunately, Keeton doesn't love a lot of tomato applications but he does like the sun-dried tomatoes so I'll keep making boat loads of them for the time being. (Gross side note, my normal drunk snack of white bread, mayo, & Bac-Os has been upgraded with the addition of sun-dried tomates! roll tide)

Recently someone came by with just like two bushels of assorted apples? I couldn't really give a shit less about apples (and it now seems I could have just juiced them) but I made a totally decent apple crumble and some BEAUTIFUL apple-butter. I can't believe it was so easy!

You honestly just peel, core, cut the apples, throw them into the crock-pot with brown sugar, white sugar, and pie spices (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, clove) and cook for ten hours on low. Add vanilla and cook for two more hours. Use immersion blender to blitz it up and BAM it'll stay good for two weeks in the fridge. I am not putting measurements because I did not know how many pounds of apples I had, and because of that mine butter is rather spicy. HOWEVER, all that means is I have to put a slice of sharp Irish cheddar (or whatever cheese you want) on my apple-buttered-toast. It makes me really happy.

A few more catch up items...

• LABOR DAY WEEKEND! Hopefully some cookouts and grilling and drinking, hopefully. 
• My mother sent me a sourdough starter from Alaska (?) that I have let do its thing and now is chilling in the fridge. Not quite worthy of a photo yet but I want to make some damn bread (OR THE PACKET SUGGESTED WAFFLES) for my damn apple butter. 
• THATS IT. Can't wait to get back in the swing of things with little fixins!!!

the easiest chicken salad

i've made a lot of chicken salad. today i wanted it to be easy, but this might be my favorite that i've made recently. this recipe is a serving for just one person.

1 roasted chicken thigh
1 tbsp finely diced red onion
1 tbsp crushed pistachios
1 tbsp mayo
1 tbsp mustard (i used zataran's yellow mustard)
salt and pepper
crystal hot sauce
1 tsp minced fresh tarragon

some notes for good chicken salad: don't boil the chicken. that's nasty! always roast. use salt, pepper, olive oil, and some lemon juice/zest if you want a relatively neutral flavor but the possibilities are endless. the more flavor the chicken has, the better the salad will be, duh. also, if you're using raw onion/celery, make sure you get a fine dice so that the flavor isn't overwhelming. make the dressing on the side and then add it in batches so you don't overdress, and if you're using fresh herbs you can mix those in there as well so they'll be evenly distributed.

i used a lot of hot sauce. that's why it's kind of pink in this picture. if you don't want it to be spicy then...don't use as much!

what it do

a simple summer salad + our blog's return

y'all we're back. it's been over two years, but as i've finished grad school and remain seriously under-employed i have plenty of time to post recent recipe experiments. my roommate danielle and i have a catering company (hey y'all catering) and blake and his boyfriend keeton cook all the time, too. ALSO we both have iphones now and not blackberries so there should be considerable improvements in picture quality. to start, an easy salad and vinaigrette i made for a vegetarian dinner the other night. i followed it up with beet ravioli with a tarragon brown butter sauce then lemon icebox pie with fresh whipped cream. 

without further ado:

greens with chevre, pistachios, and strawberries

1 package greens (pictured is an organic girl blend)

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1 package goat cheese (pictured is la bonne vie garlic +herbs)

a dozen sliced strawberries 

a handful of pistachios

fresh herbs (i used tarragon and mint -- just tear them over the salad before serving)

vinaigrette: 

zest and juice from one orange

zest from a lemon

one garlic clove (i use a garlic press so that it's completely incorporated)

1 tbsp dijon mustard

a pinch of brown sugar

salt

pepper

2 tbsp white vinegar

1/4-1/2 cup of evoo

i am approximating the oil here because there are many schools of thought regarding how tangy a vinaigrette should be. i like mine particularly acidic, so i would add more white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar/rice wine vinegar/champagne vinegar, whatever you have on hand) than i've indicated above and go light on the oil. Particularly if you're using arugula or another delicate green, you don't want to overdress the leaves or crush them under the weight of a creamy dressing. if you're using romaine or a heavier green (which i wouldn't recommend with this particular salad) a dressing with a higher fat content would work. 

i recommend making vinaigrettes in a mason jar, and shaking vigorously before testing and adjusting seasoning. go light at first, and build up the flavors once you get an ideal oil to vinegar ratio. 

we have four followers so i'm not sure if this is applicable to anyone but eat well and have a great day!