Thursday, January 6, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Culinary Deliciousness
Ok, just a quick post here, because I have to share my recent adventures.
When in California for Thanksgiving in 2009, Dad took us to a small valley outside of Sacramento that is full of apple orchards. It's called Apple Hill, or something. Anyway, there was a little shop there that had all sorts of different flavors of fruit curd. They had mango, and lime, and passion fruit and of course, lemon. We bought a small jar of lemon curd, and it traveled across the U.S. with us. I had it in mind that I would use it as a filling in a cake or something. Well, Brian and I were craving cupcakes the other day, and I had opened the jar of lemon curd and knew it needed to be used. So . . . .
Yes folks! Those are lemon curd cupcakes. The frosting is vanilla that I tinted yellow. Brian thought that lemon icing would be too much. But he informed me today that I should have used lemon icing. Why doesn't he trust me in these things???
So, they are white cupcakes, with lemon curd that I inserted using a pastry bag and a little bit of force, topped with vanilla frosting. The next batch will have lemon frosting. Now, I have contemplated making lemon curd from scratch, and have been given a tested recipe to use, but I'm scared. Curds are difficult to make because if you do it wrong, you end up with nasty scrambled eggs. So, one day when I'm feeling particularly adventurous, I'll give that a whirl. Until then, I'm grateful that Trader Joe's sells jars of lemon curd. And now to go eat a cupcake . . .
When in California for Thanksgiving in 2009, Dad took us to a small valley outside of Sacramento that is full of apple orchards. It's called Apple Hill, or something. Anyway, there was a little shop there that had all sorts of different flavors of fruit curd. They had mango, and lime, and passion fruit and of course, lemon. We bought a small jar of lemon curd, and it traveled across the U.S. with us. I had it in mind that I would use it as a filling in a cake or something. Well, Brian and I were craving cupcakes the other day, and I had opened the jar of lemon curd and knew it needed to be used. So . . . .
Yes folks! Those are lemon curd cupcakes. The frosting is vanilla that I tinted yellow. Brian thought that lemon icing would be too much. But he informed me today that I should have used lemon icing. Why doesn't he trust me in these things???
So, they are white cupcakes, with lemon curd that I inserted using a pastry bag and a little bit of force, topped with vanilla frosting. The next batch will have lemon frosting. Now, I have contemplated making lemon curd from scratch, and have been given a tested recipe to use, but I'm scared. Curds are difficult to make because if you do it wrong, you end up with nasty scrambled eggs. So, one day when I'm feeling particularly adventurous, I'll give that a whirl. Until then, I'm grateful that Trader Joe's sells jars of lemon curd. And now to go eat a cupcake . . .
The Holidays at Our House
Christmas was quiet this year. We were able to participate in family traditions on Christmas Eve with Mom and my sibs using gchat, which was good. It wasn't the same as being there, but it made the transition a lot easier. On Christmas day, Brian's classmate Soonok joined us for lunch. Brian wanted ham and funeral potatoes, as is common at his parents house around the holidays. So, we bought a ham. That's the first time I'd ever cooked a bone-in spiral cut ham. It was hamalicious. Soonok appreciated the funeral potatoes. She is Korean and hadn't ever heard of them, so we explained the deeply symbolic Mormon tradition. HA!
Brian also became teacher on Christmas, as Soonok had requested a baking lesson. Together they made cinnamon rolls and ginger pillows. DELICIOUS!! Both recipes were from the Newt Chews cookbook, which is probably my most used cookbook. The ginger pillows didn't stand a chance and we had eaten more than half before the day was through.
I was also able to gchat opening presents with my family on Christmas morning. Again, not the same as being there, but it was still good to have that option. Honestly, what did we do before that technology was available? I know I won't ever be able to go back. Brian and I opted to get each other funny t-shirts for Christmas. We will wear them with pride as the people who read them feel slightly uncomfortable.
The other exciting thing about Christmas in Georgia was that it snowed. Now, it does snow around here occasionally, but apparently snow on Christmas Day hadn't happened since some time in the 1880s. So, yeah, everyone was talking about it. There was maybe, MAYBE, an inch of snow on the lawns. Early Sunday morning, we got a text, then a call from church leaders that they had cancelled church because of the snow. Sheesh! Talk about pansies . . .
Dad flew into Georgia the day after Christmas. Picking him up at the airport was easy-breezy; we were worried it would be hard to connect up with him. We got some great pizza on the way home, and crashed once we got here. We showed him around campus and Athens the following day. We took him to see The Tree that Owns Itself, which is weird, but fun. We went to the shopping outlet in Commerce, which is about 30 minutes away. He needed some sunglasses for his trip, and a scarf because he was complaining it was too cold here. (He was acting like a pansy, just for the record.) We spent one day exploring the city of Madison. (To be blogged about soon) and just chilled at home quite a bit. It was really nice to have Dad around for those few days. I started missing his company the moment he walked back in to the airport. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. We're already plotting our activities when he comes to visit again.
We sat at home on New Year's Eve. Yep, we're boring. We ended up staying up past midnight, but only because we got entranced in one of the shows we watch on Netflix. And we spent New Year's day in, cause we're not crazy enough to go out on days like that when everyone else is shopping.
It's been a nice break from school for Brian, but I'm ready to get back to some sort of routine. The job hunt still continues for me, but our fingers are crossed that the right thing happens sooner rather than later.
Brian also became teacher on Christmas, as Soonok had requested a baking lesson. Together they made cinnamon rolls and ginger pillows. DELICIOUS!! Both recipes were from the Newt Chews cookbook, which is probably my most used cookbook. The ginger pillows didn't stand a chance and we had eaten more than half before the day was through.
I was also able to gchat opening presents with my family on Christmas morning. Again, not the same as being there, but it was still good to have that option. Honestly, what did we do before that technology was available? I know I won't ever be able to go back. Brian and I opted to get each other funny t-shirts for Christmas. We will wear them with pride as the people who read them feel slightly uncomfortable.
The other exciting thing about Christmas in Georgia was that it snowed. Now, it does snow around here occasionally, but apparently snow on Christmas Day hadn't happened since some time in the 1880s. So, yeah, everyone was talking about it. There was maybe, MAYBE, an inch of snow on the lawns. Early Sunday morning, we got a text, then a call from church leaders that they had cancelled church because of the snow. Sheesh! Talk about pansies . . .
Dad flew into Georgia the day after Christmas. Picking him up at the airport was easy-breezy; we were worried it would be hard to connect up with him. We got some great pizza on the way home, and crashed once we got here. We showed him around campus and Athens the following day. We took him to see The Tree that Owns Itself, which is weird, but fun. We went to the shopping outlet in Commerce, which is about 30 minutes away. He needed some sunglasses for his trip, and a scarf because he was complaining it was too cold here. (He was acting like a pansy, just for the record.) We spent one day exploring the city of Madison. (To be blogged about soon) and just chilled at home quite a bit. It was really nice to have Dad around for those few days. I started missing his company the moment he walked back in to the airport. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. We're already plotting our activities when he comes to visit again.
We sat at home on New Year's Eve. Yep, we're boring. We ended up staying up past midnight, but only because we got entranced in one of the shows we watch on Netflix. And we spent New Year's day in, cause we're not crazy enough to go out on days like that when everyone else is shopping.
It's been a nice break from school for Brian, but I'm ready to get back to some sort of routine. The job hunt still continues for me, but our fingers are crossed that the right thing happens sooner rather than later.
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