August 31, 2010
I can barely believe it’s September already. The summer is basically over and I realized that I haven’t made any ice cream yet! I had all these grand plans that I was going to finally buy an ice cream maker and make all different kinds of flavors of ice cream and frozen yogurt. But no, I never did get that ice cream maker and now it’s looking like I’m going to have to buy a new blender, so I guess the ice cream maker will just have to wait another year.
But I didn’t want the summer to be over without making any ice cream and luckily, it’s still pretty easy to make without the machine. All you need is a freezer and a mixer (or even strong arms and sturdy whisk will do). I decided to make frozen yogurt again because of how much I enjoyed the frozen yogurt I made last summer. It’s better for you than ice cream, but it’s just as creamy and delicious so it doesn’t taste like you’re sacrificing anything.
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August 17, 2010
I’ve always been a really picky eater. I’ve made some progress on that front since I started this blog, but I’m still way too picky to be called a “foodie” or anything like that. But this summer I’ve made some pretty big discoveries that have challenged my preconceptions of certain foods and because of that I’ve decided to change. I made this challenge to myself: I will try everything at least once. If I don’t like it, fine, but at least now I know I don’t like it and I’m not just assuming based on how it looks or smells or whatever weird childhood memories it brings up.
For example, I’ve never liked carrots because in elementary school I threw up in the middle of the cafeteria after eating some. Now it turns out, I still don’t really like the taste of raw carrots. But I use carrots in my cooking all the time now because I’ve discovered that if they are in something else, like a soup or salad or pot pie, then I don’t mind them. I used to obsessively pick them out of everything, which was beyond annoying and I can’t believe I bothered. It’s so much easier not being picky!
But the thing that actually spurred this new approach to food was summer fruit. Specifically cherries and peaches. I’ve never liked either. But I realized that I’ve never actually had a fresh cherry before and the only peaches I’d ever eaten were the kind that come in a can of fruit cocktail. I’ve been seeing tons of cherry and peach recipes all summer long, so when I saw cherries and nice looking peaches at the grocery store, I grabbed them on a whim. When I got home and tasted the fruit, I was blown away by the flavor. But it made me feel SO STUPID. I’d been missing out on delicious cherries all my life because I just assumed they tasted like that awful candy or cough syrup. And I thought peaches were as slimy and flavorless as their canned equivalent. After that I knew I had to stop being such a picky eater. How much wonderful food have I missed out on because I wouldn’t even want to try it?
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August 4, 2010
I’m not 100% happy with the name of this recipe. Caramelized Cinnamon Toast might be better, but calling it French Toast is more descriptive of how it’s made. I would say this is a combination of French Toast and Cinnamon Toast, but Caramelized Cinnamon French Toast is way too long, so we’ll just keep it simple. Everyone knows what French Toast is, right?
I’ve never been a big fan of French Toast. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never disliked it, but in the world of breakfast foods, I’d usually rather have pancakes or pastries. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever even made it at home before. I remember my mom used to make it when I was a kid (though not as much as pancakes or waffles) and of course I’ve had it at restaurants, but I guess it’s never occurred to me to actually make French Toast myself. But Cinnamon Toast? Well, that is one of my most favorite things in the whole world. I make that all the time. So much so that I have a bottle just to store my own cinnamon-sugar mix. And when I saw this recipe in which you sprinkle the egg/milk soaked bread with sugar right before you cook it, my only thought was: It needs cinnamon! So that’s what this is, French Toast sprinkled (covered? heaped?) with cinnamon-sugar and seared until the sugar caramelizes and hardens a little to give the bread a sweet, slightly crunchy coating on the outside. It’s cinnamon toast taken to the next level and it’s awesome.
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July 28, 2010
I’m not a very talkative person. I think that’s something that readers of this blog might be surprised about. Because I know my posts tend to be long, especially compared to a lot of other food blogs I read. But if you met me at a party, I might not say much, whereas if you give me a keyboard and a textbox to fill, I could probably “talk” for hours on end. That’s one reason I love blogging and the internet so much. I guess I just feel more free to express myself here than I do in “real life”. That’s probably something I need to work on, but that’s not really for this post to address.
The point I’m trying to make is that I’m usually so excited about sharing a recipe and describing why it’s so good and my experience making it etcetera etcetera that I never have trouble coming up with things to say about it. Editing that sentiment down to something more concise is what always trips me up.
But I have no trouble coming up with something concise to say about this chicken because the only thing that springs to mind is: this is the best roast chicken I’ve ever made. Period. What else is there to add? Ok, how about this: I had several other recipes for roast chicken that I used to make, but now I don’t. I make this chicken, pretty much every week and it never fails. It’s just really good, really simple chicken.
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