Bread Custard with Raisins and Dried Cranberries

Don't waste food. That's what my grandmother always told me. I took that simple idea to heart.

When we go out to eat, I bring home what we don't eat. Especially the bread. Why let good bread get thrown away? And if you're in the grocery store, and you see a loaf of marked-down white bread, buy it and you'll be able to make a dessert that's as easy-to-make as it is elegant looking and delicious.

Bread Custard with Raisins and Dried Cranberries

Unlike traditional bread puddings, this dessert is designed to come out of the pan.

Yield 4-6 servings

Time 30 minutes preparation, 60 minutes baking

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup + 1 teaspoon sugar
6 slices white bread
1 tablespoon dark raisins
1 tablespoon golden raisins
1 tablespoon dried cranberries
1 tablespoon whole raw almonds, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sweet butter, melted

Method

Soak the raisins and cranberries in the cream for an hour or overnight.

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Toast the bread in the oven for 4-5 minutes on each side until lightly toasted. Set aside.

Heat 1 teaspoon of sugar in a nonstick skillet over a low flame. Add the chopped almonds. Stir frequently until sugar begins to melt. After the almonds have been coated with the melted sugar, remove from the pan and chop on a cutting board.

Make the custard-base by using a fork to beat together the eggs and sugar. Add the cream with the raisins and dried cranberries. Stir well.

Put water into a small bowl. Taking 2-3 slices of toasted bread at a time, dip the bread in the water for a few seconds. Carefully squeeze out the water and tear the bread into pieces and drop into the custard. Mix well.

Instead of using a standard baking pan, use a 9" round take-out container. Why? Because the thin, aluminum-sided take-out container is flexible and that makes removing the bread custard easy.

Paint the inside of the take-out container with melted butter. Pour in the custard-bread mixture. Put into a water bath (1" of water in a pan larger than the take-out container).

Bake for 30 minutes, remove from the oven. Sprinkle the caramelized chopped almonds on top of the custard. Loosely lay a piece of aluminum foil over the custard to prevent the top from burning before the custard is set

Return to the oven for another 15 - 30 minutes. The custard is done when you touch the top and it only slightly jiggles (shouldn't be "wet"). Then remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

When cooled, the custard will shrink slightly allowing for easy removal from the pan. Place one hand on top, flip it over, and carefully remove the cake from the pan. Place a plate on the bottom and flip it over.

Serve warm dusted with powdered sugar or topped with whipped cream or ice cream.

A Taste of Emeril

A crazy weekend in Philly that included 12hrs on the train left me with a nasty cold that is ever-so-slowly getting better. While I did some cooking, I couldn't taste it until this weekend :/ I've been meaning to give a shoutout to Foodbuzz's Tastemaker program, through which I recieved some Emeril goodies to try out. I used the organic Vegetable stock when I made Kalyn's Autumn Harvest Soup this past week. As I normally use chicken stock, I was very impressed with the flavor of the stock and would definitely use it again if the price was right! I don't know if it was my particular spices, but I felt like the soup could've used a bit more. That also might have been my taste buds ;) This was also a delight to eat texture-wise as it combined kale, butternut, and farro! Not quite chicken soup, I think it had enough nutritional goodness to help fight my cold ;)

Autumn Harvest Soup

Boston-area bloggers/readers/friends: Let me know if you're interested in an apple-picking adventure at Smolak Farms this Sunday morning!!

Anyone else have plans to do some apple picking this fall?? I may have to try my hand at making apple cider donuts...

Save me I'm single!

It would all be so much easier if:

~ we didn't need sex to reproduce

~ the urge to reproduce weren't as strong

~ we weren't as fascinated by the other sex

~ we weren't as fascinated by sex

~ we didn't think about relationships so much

~ we didn't think so much

We shall never solve all the problems of meeting the right person and sustaining a relationship with them. Humans are an imperfect animal, prone to changes of direction, and our relationship architecture reflects that. The search for fairy tale endings and happy ever after is, to me, a deliberate misread of you and us. Reality will find a way to disappoint you if it's perfection you seek.

Technology is wonderful, its benefits clear. In this particular field, I have my doubts. Two cases in particular encourage delusional thinking.

Exhibit A: Online dating. Argh! I know, people find each other every day via this medium. For every successful couple (relationship longevity unknown) there are thousands of men and women whose view of possible partners is skewed by having them presented as another shopping option. It's one giant People Mall out there, the very idea of which gives me the creeps.

Exhibit B: Reproduction outside the body aka: in vitro fertilization. What an example of amazing science and bioengineering. Unfortunately, it is a powerful option with uses for both good and not so good. For couples unable to become pregnant naturally, it is the most wonderful gift. For many other applications, I am dubious. More than anything, I worry that we see IVF as a justification for delaying child-bearing even longer than we do already. This is a subtle influence, allowing folks who might otherwise settle to have families of their own a few more years of self-indulgence.

In a way, we're the (single) victims of our inventiveness.

Being Single Part 1, Being Single Part 3, Being Single Part 4.

Why am I single?

Singlehood isn't a disease, nor is it a condition. It's not contagious, and I don't think one can inoculate against it. Being without a romantic partner is more than something for your grandmother to focus on at family reunions, but less than the fairy tale she'd hoped for.

Many folks are single and wondering, so it's time to find out.

That's this week at Kiss & Blog: Single, but why?

Why am I single Part 2, Why am I single Part 3, Why am I single Part 4.

Male stereos. Sorry, stereotypes.

Advertising is where we find the stereotype clearly defined. Here's how we men are dismembered by those high-priced creative types.

The hero. Powerful because of self-delusion - there go I, but for a few more gym sessions, and a bit more cardio.


Outdoors man. Control over nature...likely from the comfort of his car, looking at his wristwatch. Dubious.


Urban man. Narcissism plus money. Probably not getting as much pussy as he'd like.


Family man. Sweet. Hopelessly unrealistic.


Breadwinner. Misnamed. Should be called 'Branded-goods-loving trust-funder.' Who lives like that?


Man at work. Funny, they never romanticize cubes or horrid bosses or disgusting office coffee.


Erotic male. Ha ha. He's gay.


The Consumer. As long as he has some disposable income and isn't filing for bankruptcy.


Quiescent Man. Weird, that's on my to-do list. Right here. It says 'Buy Canali suit.'

At least they don't go down the path of men as semi-literate sports-mad drunken morons.

Wait.



Edit: Thanks to Doc Annie, here's how men can get all the women.



Thanks to these folks.

Stereotypical until you're not.

Characterizing people by way of a generalization works like any generalization - it must be accompanied by the rider that it is being used to communicate a big idea, and that individual cases will almost always vary. If you know anything about quantum mechanics, you'll see the connection here. In general, we know what an electron is doing, but we can only specifically nail down one of its two properties. We know either its momentum or its position, but not both.

It might be stretching matters to equate (perceived) human characteristics with quantum effects but it forces us to see a couple of points.

One, that language is important but imperfect.

Two, that language isn't what's real, it is merely a one dimensional snapshot of either a specific or a general idea.

So, what's this got to do with stereotypes? Well, they're useful, for a start. We all know what we mean when I refer to someone as a 'Jock'. But there will be considerable variation between each of the individual cases we conjur in our brains. (Many of us will be relying on the media here, specifically Hollywood, as a Jock is a peculiarly American case.) The Hollywood reference is important, because only in movies does the perfect Jock exist. In the real world, he's a mix of many different characteristics.

Stereotypes are valuable as long as we understand they work despite possibly having no examples actually existing. Our brains are agile enough to get that, in my opinion, because we recognize that matter is infinitely more complex than language, but that language is essential for communicating the complex.

Relationship Chemistry 101

Chemistry was my favourite class in high school. Lessons about electrons, valency and stoichiometry demonstrate how complex and how intricately beautiful our universe is. Plus there was the thrill of sharing the fume hood with Heather Peters. But I feel the knowledge of how matter works can be taken one step further.

Behold, the periodic table:



Incredible how the stuff that makes up everything you see can be so tidily summed. It's awesome, a statement which I suspect will toss me into the nerd hopper.

Notwithstanding, I believe we can use the periodic table as a cipher for human relationships. Let's start with the simplest transaction, that which powers the stars. Hydrogen, the simplest element, combines with more hydrogen to make helium AND lots of energy. We use that energy from our sun to get skin cancer and make summer. Does the idea of one and one making something special ring a bell? That's two people combining to make a family, right? (Note my PC stance please.) The sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

Here's another example: carbon. Carbon is the backbone of the human world, for we are carbon creatures. Carbon is getting a bad rep lately, but that's because it has the worst PR firm in the universe. Carbon is very stable, kind of like parents. They don't change much, always take our calls, and will be there when we need them. Without carbon we'd be nowhere.

Oxygen is a special case. Oxygen will bond with practically anything, making it the slut of the periodic table. Oxygen likes coupling - a quickie with hydrogen results in a sweet bang; an encounter with iron is a long, slow affair; and when she comes across carbon, the result is a great big political mess.

Elements combine in myriad different, but mostly predictable ways to create new entities called molecules. I wonder if humans aren't the same, combining all kinds of 'elements' in different and colourful ways to become the individual and distinct molecules we are.

Then again, I might have spent more time in the chem lab than was good for me. Boy, did I ever want to combine with Heather.



More on this topic: Stereotypes Part One, Stereotypes Part Two.

High School Archetypes

The archetypes we become later in life are born in high school, the point at which I think we're rawest as humans. Australian archetypes are a little different than the American, but fall into the same general categories. Sadly, lots of people get stuck in their high school persona. Rare is the individual who begins, say, as The Jock, and matures into The Brain, although it's possible for anyone to tumble down the ladder to being The Criminal. White collar crime sucks like that.

The Nerd, for example, will likely be a life-long nerd. That's not to say he can't morph at the edges. Perhaps he winds up at Goldman Sachs running the country and ripping off taxpayers with clever trading algorithms. He'll wear Italian suits, but probably won't appreciate them as costumes of beauty. To him equations are hot; Armani's not.

The Nerd is probably the archetype of the moment, possibly at the top of the wanted list by women. Nerds can have qualities that I think are like catnip for felines. [Edit: typed felines, meant females. Telling, no?] For one, they're not good communicators. That can be interpreted as mystery in the imagination of a nerd-centric chick, and so instead of being just silent, The Nerd looks to her like James Bond - strong and silent, with everything left unsaid.

In 1989, he just looked mousy.

Nerds too are a shopping mall of characteristics ripe for change. In case you're reading this and have never met a woman, women love (love!) to change men. I often contemplate that women have the 'remodelling' gene, because they can always find something to alter. The typical nerd has remodelling potential in his wardrobe, in his house, in his hairstyle, in his eating habits, in his weekends, in his automobile, in his vacation choice; frankly, Nerds would be better off wearing a sandwich board that says "Renovator's Delight".

Lest you think I think all members of an archetype family are the same, I don't. We're talking generalizations here, and of course there is wide variety within all groups. I'll write more about that tomorrow. But I do believe that we tend to stick with who we were at seventeen unless we consciously recognize it and change our lives accordingly.

Luckily, beauty (or handsomeness) is in the eye of the beholder, so although we men might be stuck, women's view of us can change to the point where a quality that was out of favour in 1999 (thrift, sensible non debt-fuelled lifestyle) might end up being the honeypot for ladies in 2009.

Don't despair, dudes, just be yourself. Even if you do change clothes in a phone box, someone will ravish you eventually.



More on K & B: Stereotypes Part One, Stereotypes Part Three.

Ramen Noodles with Farmers' Market Fresh Vegetables & Kimchi

I've been trying to convince my sons that ramen is good for them. They're both living on their own. They are serious about eating healthily and keeping to a budget. They keep down their costs by avoiding processed foods and fast food joints. They shop at Costco and buy in bulk.

Which is why I've been trying to get them to think about ramen. A package costs under $1.00 and if you make your own soup and add farmers' fresh vegetables, you'll have an economical, nutritious meal.

The problem is when they were kids they ate lots of Cup O'Noodles and Instant Ramen with hot water flavored with artificially flavored soup packets. In no way am I talking about that.

Tracking down a better kind of ramen takes a small amount of work. The local supermarket may only have Top Ramen which is ok but not preferred. If you live in an area with Asian markets, you'll find a wider selection of brands. In Los Angeles, we have Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and (my favorite) Korean markets where there are so many choices there's a ramen aisle.

Look for ramen noodles that don't use MSG or artificial ingredients. And throw away the powdered soup packets.

For the soup you can use any homemade stock you like: chicken, beef, or pork. I like making a sauteed vegetable stock. Throw in cooked chicken, raw shrimp, or a sliced hard boiled egg and you have a deliciously satisfying meal that costs pennies.

Ramen Noodles with Farmers' Market Fresh Vegetables & Kimchi

You can use just about any vegetable, meat, or seafood you like. Kimchi adds a nice crunch and the heat is delicious.

Yield 4 servings

Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 packages ramen noodles, discard the soup and flavor packets
1 carrot, washed, peeled, cut into pieces 1/2" square, 1" long
4 radicchio leaves
1/2 medium yellow onion, skins removed, roughly diced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
8 shiitake mushrooms
1 ear of corn, kernels removed
1/4 pound string beans, strings and ends removed, cut into 1" lengths
10 cups water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2" piece of fresh ginger, peeled, cut into thin strips (optional)
1 cup kimchi, cut into thin strips
Sea salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method

Drizzle the olive oil seasoned with sea salt and pepper on a large saute pan. Saute the vegetables except the kimchi until softened and lightly browned. Add 6 cups of water and simmer for 20 minutes until reduced by half. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add soy sauce.

In a large pot, boil 4 cups of water. Add the ramen noodles and cook uncovered for 5 minutes or until al dente. Stir frequently to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Reserve 1 cup of the noodle water. Strain the noodles and add to the vegetables and broth.

Taste and add the noodle water if more liquid is needed.

Serve in bowls with chop sticks and spoons.

Variations

Top each bowl with 1/2 a hard boiled egg, thinly sliced

Instead of radicchio use 1 bunch of spinach, washed, whole leaves or roughly chopped

Instead of water, use chicken, pork, or beef stock to make the soup

Add 1 cup raw shrimp, washed, peeled, deveined, and roughly chopped to the soup when you add the noodles and simmer 5 minutes until the shrimp are pink

Top with thin slices of soy sauce marinated, grilled chicken, pork, or beef

Nerds, Goths, Jocks, Dweebs, Motorheads and Geeks.

Attracting persons of interest - in the romantic relationshippy way, not the FBI way - is a perennial problem. Despite millenia of evolution and generations of practice, lots of us still struggle, and matters appear to be getting more complicated. Finding the right partner thesedays is like peeling an onion; there are many layers, and it sometimes ends in tears.

Miss Min elegantly describes her onion:

"I go for the nerd, hands down. But not the ones that still live in their parents' basement, have a lifetime subscription to World of Warcraft and list "Klingon" as one of their native languages. I like the ones that are slightly enigmatic, slightly socially inept, disgustingly intelligent and can match my aptitude for conversations in randomness."

This definition is remarkably well drawn. Having a clear picture is both a blessing and a curse, a little like eating the same thing for lunch every day. Nerd sandwich might be filling and nutritious, but when something really tasty and new pops up on the menu, you might not know it. However, having a starting point is, well, a good start.

That's my train of thought for this week: can we stereotype the kinds of guys ladies like, and what are those stereotypes?

By the way, Miss Min, your ideal guy sounds a lot like Ferris Bueller.



More on K & B: Stereotypes Part Two, Stereotypes Part Three.

Lana Turner, Green Lights, Murder.

Lana Turner was Hollywood's biggest female star in the 1940s. She was possessed of a "...lustrous mane of blond hair (and) dirigible-sized breasts..." despite which (because of which?) her love life was problematic. By 1957 Lana had been married and divorced four times.

A man called John Steele began chasing Miss Turner in April 1957. He sent her flowers and love notes, and phoned her constantly. Ignoring this stranger's approaches at first, the man's taste in music, his apparent refinement and debonair style began to pique Lana's interest.

John Steele was on a mission to win the intoxicating movie star, spending a lot of time discovering her likes and dislikes, whatever made her tick. Eventually they met, and when they did so, she was "...pleased and titillated to discover that he was tall, husky, dark-haired and handsome."

So began a year-long relationship of passion and violence. John Steele was a nom de lust - the man's real name was Johnny Stompanato, a Mafia thug who worked for Mickey Cohen. Johnny was possessive and jealous, and stated more than once that he would never let Lana be with another man.

Matters came to a head in April of 1958, when Turner's daughter, Cheryl, decided to put an end to Stompanato's consistent beating of her mother. With a carving knife, Cheryl stabbed Johnny Stompanato to death in her Beverly Hills home, an act the courts called 'justifiable homicide'.

I can't decide which of the following truths applies:

If you commit murder, be a minor.

Over-the-top men are too good to be true.

Ownership of a large bosom doesn't guarantee a happy life.




Green Lights Part One, Green Lights Part Two, Green Lights Part Three, Green Lights Part Four.


All quotes from 'Among the Mansions of Eden' by David Weddle.

It's raining figs- hallelujah!

Imagine my delight when I saw fresh black mission figs at trader joes? I picked up a 1lb container, and when I saw they were only $4, I went back and got 2 more :) ... I couldn't help it! Luckily I had a few to play with even after eating a few right away.

I busted out one of the cookbooks I got for my birthday, The Frugal Foodie, to find a recipe for Chicken w/Fresh Figs & Wine Sauce. You can actually find the recipe on the authors' site Two Fat Als here. The cookbook has a great premise (gourmet cooking on a budget), and if this dish is any indication, it's a winner! I'm guessing lean pork or tofu would also work well with this sauce.

Chix w/Figs & Wine Sauce

Another dish I tried was for pan-seared salmon paired with a caramelized onion and fig sauce from recipezaar (click here for recipe). This was delicious, although very rich with the salmon and sweet sauce. It may have been the fact that I was a little heavy-handed with the balsamic, though, so I wouldn't hold it against the recipe ;)

Salmon w/Caramelized Onions & Figs

My last treat was inspired by this ice cream. I wanted to try a few different things, and I ended up with a concoction that almost tasted like fig cheesecake! I like the flavors better when it wasn't too hard (fresh from churning), so don't try to serve it completely frozen.

Fig Ice Cream

Fig Ice Cream
Recipe by Shannon, adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini


1 lb figs, trimmed and cut into quarters
1/4c water
1 lemon
~1/4c honey
75g greek yogurt
75g goat cheese
1/2T lemon juice

In medium saucepan, combine figs, 1/4c water and zest of 1/2 lemon. Cover and cook for a few minutes. Add honey, stir to combine and continue to cook uncovered until thickens to a jam-like consistency, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely.

In a food processor, puree fig mixture, yogurt, goat cheese, and lemon juice. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately, or store in freezer. Allow ice cream to soften a bit before serving.

What is she saying? Do I care?

If in doubt, I refer to Sun Tzu:

It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles;...

In warfare, as in mating, a few simple rules can save us from calamitous mistakes. Avoiding a hundred unsatisfactory encounters with women, looking for green lights, confused about body language, is easily done: ignore them.

No, I am not advocating completely rinsing women right out of your hair, that won't do at all. But a way to remain calm and unconcerned is to stop looking. This might not make much sense if you're a woman reading this, but consciously giving up the eternal pursuit of skirt (if only for a night) can be liberating for a man. It is similar to the day your mother says you can - after years of work - quit the piano lessons you loathed. Release, blessed release.

A man thusly at peace with himself has mental energy to burn. Avoiding the manic effect of trim-chasing mode lightens the heart, creating a sense of cool engagement with women. If she's interested, she'll talk to me. If she wants to kiss, she'll initiate. If she's discreetly handing your her underwear under the table, she probably wants sex.

See how easy that is?

Calm men, not on the lookout, will attract women. It hands us the decision - yes, or no?




Green Lights Part One, Green Lights Part Two, Green Lights Part Three, Green Lights Part Five.

Abruzzo at Il Fornaio, Santa Monica

Everyone should have at least one restaurant where they feel at home. A place where they know the staff, enjoy the menu, and feel comfortable enough to hang out without feeling pressured to order-eat-and-leave.

For us, that's how we feel about the Il Fornaio (1551 Ocean Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401; 310/451-7800) across from the Santa Monica pier. Several times a month we meet with friends, try out as many dishes as we can, have a cocktail or two, drink a little wine, and share a dessert.

For two weeks at the start of each month, Il Fornaio has a Festa Regionale that features a different region of Italy.

During the Regionale, Il Fornaio offers a tasting menu with a sampling from the soup and antipasti menu, one from the pasta course, and a full sized portion from the meat and fish menu. The servings are large enough to be shared by two and the price is just under $30.00.

The gift this month--if you ask for a Festa Regionale passport and have it stamped, you'll receive a special gift--was a package of mushroom risotto. A very nice take-away.

This month's regional menu (September 7-20) features the region of Abruzzo. Located on the Adriatic Sea, in the mid-section of the Italian peninsula, the cuisine includes the vibrant dishes of the south with beautifully ripe tomatoes (La Pummadore A'nsalata) as well as the hearty braised meats (Maccheroni Alla Chitarra & Risotto con Ragu Di Pesce) of the north.

Between the six of us, we sampled most of the menu along with the two regional wines. We had glasses of the lovely Trebbiano d'Abruzzo (Valle Reale, Vigne Nuove, 2008) which went perfectly with the Lobster bisque (Zuppa d'Argaosta al Tartufo Nero). The bisque had the strong flavors of the sea since no cream or potato puree was added. The Trebbiano was also a good companion for the wild arugula salad (Prosciutto Cacio E Pere) topped with a delicate prosciutto, peppered pecorino cheese, and the thinnest sliced pears I've ever seen.

With the lamb chops (Costicine d'Agnello) , perfectly cooked and spread out on the plate like an elegant fan, we had the very nice Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Cataldi Madonna, 2006).

Our favorite pasta from the menu was the pasta with lamb ragu (Maccheroni alla Chitarra). The braised flavors were deep and rich. The strands of meat were perfectly tender with just the right amount of salt.

Saving the best for last, the icy-cold custard (Semifreddo al Torrone con Punch Abruzzzese) with almond nougat was delicious. To eat the dessert we were given extra long spoons so we could reach across the table and share the plate.

In the competition to eat as much of the semifreddo as possible, the spoons became weapons-of-mass-consumption.

For more posts about Il Fornaio's Festa Regionale check out:
Grilled Vegetable Couscous Salad
A Tasting at Il Fornaio, Santa Monica--Trentino-Alto Adige
A Trip to Italy is Just Around the Corner at Il Fornaio--Calabria
Il Fornaio Heads South to Campania for May's Regionale
Il Fornaio Heads North to Lombardia
Abruzzo at Il Fornaio, Santa Monica
Friuli-Venezia Giulia at Il Fornaio

Does she like me? Will my ego be bruised?

I need to specify more clearly what I'm trying to tease out with this green light business. Saving men from making embarrassing moves motivates me, because the Good Lord knows I have made many doomed approaches to women. Every rejection saps a little bit of energy, if only temporarily. So in the interests of helping my fellow man, I seek only to improve his odds of at least a civil response from a woman.

Green Light Theory (let's give this sucker a big Capitalized proper name to make it sound super important) is based in a simple idea. Here it is. Are you ready? Right. Here we go. Ahem.

Women get to say yes or no.

Cool isn't it? With that in mind...

...valid tools exist that a man can use to figure out whether any particular woman is more likely to say yes than no, thereby putting the odds in his favour.

That's all I'm talking about. By any means possible, it's way better taking a little time (and some understanding of human nature) to paint a mental picture of how she's situated with respect to you. Observe and listen to her. What's she telling you?

*

Green lights Part One, Green lights Part Two, Green Lights Part Four, Green Lights Part Five.

Hanging on to Summer

I've been enjoying a lot of simple things lately that have been gobbled up before my camera even thought of coming out to play-- grilled cheese sandwiches with home-grown tomatoes (thanks mom!), pita pizzas (including one with green tomatoes and an egg which I loved), salads and even breakfast for dinner.

I did manage to catch a photo of the brownie batter buttons I made, drizzled with a bit of barney butter. Phew, that's alot of b's :) If you're looking for a unique way to use up some chocolate amazing grass, head over to Katie's site for the recipe!

Brownie Batter Buttons

I've also been hanging on to the last bit of summer, making burgers, muesli, and a grain salad chock-full of summer's bounty. The burger recipe came from grad school, when a friend of mine was trying to remember Weber's recipe off the top of his head. I've continued to make it this way since then, although I have since switched to ground buffalo or lean grass fed beef. Red meat isn't a huge part of my diet, but I do get cravings for a good burger :) These knocked my socks off, but I may have been swayed by the lettuce and tomatoes, which came straight from mom's garden!


Randy's Burgers


2lbs ground meat (I used ground buffalo)
~20ml ketchup
~7.5ml worchestire sauce
~1/2t salt
few grinds of fresh ground pepper
cayenne pepper (how much depends on your taste buds!)
~1/2-1t dried thyme

Burger tips: Bring the meat to room temperature. Don't handle it too much when mixing it together. When forming the patties, a depression in the center will help to prevent a puffy center (keeping the burger flatter). I seem to recall the recommendation to cook these at med-hi heat, 3.5min/side.



My muesli kick started after getting a sample in my last race packet. For my own version, I combined 1/2c thick cut rolled oats, unsweetened coconut, dried cranberries, chopped almonds, ground flax and some cinnamon. At night I'd mix an individual-sized greek yogurt and a splash of milk, stir it together, and pop it in the fridge. In the morning, a little more milk and some cantaloupe or a peach made a fantastic, filling breakfast.

Muesli w/cantaloupe

I also gave a new grain a try--farro! It's alot like wheat or spelt berries, and cooked kinda like pasta (in a pot of boiling salted water, then drained when plump). Like similar grains, I loved the chew. Paired with some of my favorite things (corn, fresh green beans and goat cheese), this salad was a winner (click here for the recipe)! While I added some poached chicken, I could see chickpeas or some roasted tofu going perfectly as well. I didn't have marjoram, so I used about half the amount of oregano (I read they're in the same family, with marjoram being the mellower member).

Chix, Green Bean, Corn & Farro Salad w/Goat Cheese

I'll leave you with a picture from the weekend, from an awesome hike in NH with the owners of this pup :)

from the top of Mt. Monadnock

She's talking but I don't understand.

Experts, by which I mean random articles from the internet, agree that it's best not to listen to a word women say. Did that come out right? Probably not. Let me start again.

Experts agree that what a woman says is less important for determining her interest in you than her body language. That's better.

It's obvious to anyone who has given this more than a passing thought. Yet it continues to baffle many men, including me. The truly in-your-face green lights are those when she touches you. The 'touch and laugh' is a sure sign, as is the 'touch and whisper in your ear.' If a guy doesn't pick up on her deliberate entry into your deepest personal space, there's no hope for him.

There are many more subtle ways that women work their bodies which can be misinterpreted. Dilated pupils can be interest or a cocaine habit. Hair flipping might just be because she's overdue for a cut. Legs crossing and uncrossing could be a symptom of thrush. There are multiple explanations for many behavioural tics, and I know from horrible personal experience how easily one can be mistaken for another.

I think the biggest difficulty we have decoding lady body language is tuning out the words. We train from birth to listen to what people say rather than what they're expressing, a fine distinction I know, but an important one. Because none of us controls our body language to the same degree we do our spoken language, it will reflect more accurately our state of mind. Therefore, for a window to her heart and mind, watch, don't listen.

So that's the logic behind observing body language, now, how to create enough mental space for us to see it. The only way I have found is to start a woman talking on a favourite topic. This might take a little while, especially if you're new to each other. A smart thing to do anyway, when she's off and running along, talking ten to the dozen, you can zone her voice out a little - just a little - and take in what her body is saying.

Warning! Remember to snap out of it quick, because if she notices you mentally drifting from the convo, the red lights will come out as quickly as you can say Manhattan rush hour.

*

Women's Green Lights Part One, Green Lights Part Three, Green Lights Part Four, Green Lights Part Five.

At the stop lights, waiting for her green lights.

Finding the right person is not a precise pastime. We would all like to know exactly where we stand with respect to particular members of the opposite sex, but it's not that kind of a universe. Do they like us, love us, feel indifferent, want to boil us in oil? Without spending lots of time with them, observing and talking, it's impossible to know.

And if we can never be 100% sure within ourselves of how we feel about someone, that someone will have a tougher time figuring us out too. Everyone in the dating world lives in an uncertainty cloud, never really knowing what's going on.

Which is why this article about Stoplight Parties caught my eye. By wearing clothing or an accessory coloured green, amber or red, the individual reveals their availability, thereby improving visibility a little.

I like the idea. Oddly, it is the red-wearing people I admire the most. They're romantically taken, or just not interested, so their status is crystal clear; sexual intercourse is out, social intercourse is in. When ambiguity is resolved, everyone knows how to proceed.

That's where I plan to take this week at Kiss & Blog, along the route of discovering how to interpret (especially) green lights, and how to clear that uncertainty cloud.

*

Women's green lights Part Two, Green lights Part Three, Green Lights Part Four, Green Lights Part Five.

Musselman's Healthy Picks

*chirp chirp*

Sorry about the absence over here... while i'm trying to get my mojo back, there's something I've been meaning to get to-- a review for the new line of Musselman's applesauce. I'd seen it on a few blogs, but was excited for the chance to try it myself (Thanks Krista!!).


The Healthy Picks line of applesauce is designed to be a healthy, portable snack for us busy folks. It comes in three flavors: Blueberry Pomegranate, Raspberry Açaí and Key Lime Cupuaçu. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to try these was that there is no added sugar--apples are sweet (or they should be when you make applesauce!), no need to add anything extra. I also am attracted to flavored applesauce, as the plain varieties don't hold my attention unless they're homemade. The nutritionals aren't bad at 70 cal/cup and 3g fiber, and an ingredient list that is pretty respectable.


My impression? I think these are a great snack option! I found that one of these and a handful of almonds (i have the dark cocoa roast ones at work now) were able to keep the hunger at bay for a couple of hours. Packaged applesauce will never have the consistency of the homemade stuff I love (which I thought I had posted but couldn't find?). But these are great options to have around whenever and wherever you might need a pick-me-up. I liked each of the flavors, my favorite probably the Blueberry Pomegranate. I didn't think the Key Lime tasted like lime... what it was, I couldn't put my finger--er, tongue-- on. Still good, and none of them were too sweet.

I often use applesauce to replace some of the fat in baked goods, but it's never a large volume. These smaller containers would be great here as well, so long as it was a fruity loaf. Musselman's also suggests popping the applesauce in the freezer for 30min for a slushy treat. I bet this would be great in the summer heat! Want to try it yourself? Click here for a coupon and tell them I sent you!

Miss Cougar

Yeah, my invitation was lost in the mail.

Miss Cougar 2009 was crowned at a big party in Crazyfornia last week.

Congratulations, Gloria Navarro.

*

Cynical observation of the night, from the SFGate article:

Watching from a distance was hotel guest Mark Friedman, 45, of Boston, in town for a wedding.

"I've never seen so many useless 20-year-olds in my life," he said. "This is a uniquely American phenomenon."

*

Cougars Part One, Cougars Part Two, Cougars Part Three.

Photo by Hardy Wilson via FoxNews.

Too good to be true

Sorry to say, men, but the Cougar deal is not unalloyed bonking and cocktails.

According to the Cougar Report 2009*, the 'New Cougars' have evolved to become far smarter and more sophisticated in how they go about attracting and dating younger men, and guys had better adapt too if they want to keep up.

The research shows that most modern cougars have moved on from the trendy bar-hopping ways of Samantha from 'Sex and the City' or man-eating Stifler's mom from 'American Pie'.

Rather than a night out at a glitzy cocktail bar or nightclub, the ideal date for a cougar woman is actually a cosy local restaurant or a home cooked meal; emphasizing a strong desire for romance as well as 'no strings fun'.

And younger men who are looking for a sugar mama better not go 'cougar hunting' because it turns out that most cougars either let the man pay for dinner or insist on splitting the check; perhaps a handy way to filter out the gold diggers and 'players'.

If I was Cougarbait, this would be bad news. The whole point of being a young dude and hooking up with an older woman is that it is not like dating a woman your own age. Split the check? Cosy local restaurants? WTF? We want Cougars to be like Stifler's mum.

Reversion to type makes me think Cougarism has jumped the shark.

*

Cougars Part One, Cougars Part Two, Cougars Part Four.

*Survey from Cougared.com, from whom I receive no money, promotion, or even free access.

Marry an older woman

According to the BBC*:

The proportion of brides in England and Wales marrying a younger man rose from 15% to 26% in the years from 1963 to 1998, it said.

The percentage of women marrying a man at least six years younger more than doubled in that time, from 3% to 7%.

The report concluded people were now marrying less for social status and more to fulfil "individual goals".

That's clear enough. In 35 years the proportion of Cougars successfully bagging a younger guy increased by 133%. Good for them. My question revolves around 'individual goals'. What individual goal is met by marrying a younger - or even much younger - man?

I have an idea. Individual goals include:

~ wanting a harder-bodied man than those in her age-group.

~ wanting a more malleable man than those in her age-group.

~ wanting a trophy.

~ wanting to show her virility (or should that be fertility?)

~ wanting someone to look after her in old age.

Remarkable. These reasons look to be exactly the same ones that attract men to younger women, with one exception.


Cougars Part One, Cougars Part Three, Cougars Part Four.


*The statistical study is here.

What is a Cougar?

I had no idea such places existed. There is a dating site called 'Cougared.com' which touts itself as "...the quality cougar dating site that specializes in bringing together older women and younger men online."

An intriguing idea this, especially if you are a 24 to 27 year-old man (aka: primo cougarbait) or a Cougar, neither of which I am.

[Sidebar: Is Cougar a proper noun, requiring Capitalization, or not, therefore requiring none? End sidebar.]

The reason I'm writing about this is because of an email I received from Rachel, a flack at Cougared.com. K&B attracts one or two PR-types a week looking to have their products or people promoted. They offer no compensation, of course, but this one is different because: one, I'm interested in the cougar phenomenon; and two, Rachel had at least read the blog.

Cougars are interesting at the very least because it's one case where women behave in exactly the same way as men. Older guys chasing (much) younger women is passé. We don't call such men 'lions' or 'striped siberian tigers'. They're just icky old dudes. When women do the same thing, they get a title, websites and college sporting teams named after them.

But let's not focus entirely on Cougars. Let's make this week's topic about age differences between men and women in relationships.

Does half the man's age plus seven years work for women too?

*

Cougars Part Two, Cougars Part Three, Cougars Part Four.

Previously on Kiss & Blog: Dirty Thirties.

The Perfect Summer Appetizer: Prosciutto with Fig Puree and Cheese

The best appetizers are full of flavor, fun to look at, and, ideally, take very little effort to prepare. Vegetable crudites fit those requirements but they aren't exciting.

A delicious appetizer--albeit one for those without caloric restrictions--is a piece of prosciutto with a slice of triple cream and a topping of fig puree. The key to this dish is using high quality ingredients: Saint Andre triple cream, a good Italian prosciutto, and ripened farmers' market fresh figs.

The prosciutto can be rolled up but leaving it open is visually pleasing. Anyone picking one up will naturally do the rolling themselves.

Delicious any time of day: for breakfast, a light lunch with a salad, or in the evening with cocktails and wine.

Prosciutto with Fig Puree and Triple Cream

Yield 4-6

Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 pound Italian prosciutto
10 very ripe figs, washed
1/3 pound triple cream

Method

The figs have to be very ripe. Scrape out the inside and discard the skins. Remove any excess fat from the prosciutto. Cut into pieces approximately 3" x 2". Cut the triple cream into small slices.

Place a slice of cheese on each piece of prosciutto, topped with a small spoonful of fig puree. Arrange on a plate. Serve cold or room temperature.

Variations

Lightly caramelize chopped almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts and sprinkle a few bits on top of the fig puree

Place the prosciutto with its toppings on a thin cracker or a piece of crisp garlic toast

Instead of triple cream, use a cheese of your choice, ideally a soft cheese

Roll the prosciutto around the cheese and fig puree

Suburban Romance

Her forearms crossed on the steering wheel, then her head drooped forward so her forehead was resting on her arms. The strength had drained from her neck, like someone had jerked her power cord from the outlet. No energy. No will. No desire but to cry. So cry she did.

Anna couldn't remember any time in her life being so bad. Her mind flipped through the mental dead-end list she'd accumulated for months. Hating every second of it, every day had become a revolving barrel of regrets and recriminations. This bad choice led to a small pot of bad luck. Bad luck meant she'd missed the one opportunity that might have made a difference. That opportunity - or anything remotely like it - wouldn't ever return, which felt like bad karma to her. Hugely bad karma. Intensely bad karma.

That was it. Her karma was so bad, it had spawned her personal hell on earth. And this morning, sitting on the side of the road, with her head on the steering wheel, she decide that it was all her fault. Her fault, and the roses.

The roses had been the start of it. Before the roses, the sun shone. After the roses, the darkness descended. The roses startled her when she saw them. It was like they'd appeared from nowhere, but he had definitely given them to her. She'd been waiting, as usual, in the minivan, in the minivan-and-SUV-line waiting for Jack, her youngest. Talking on the phone to Mardie passed the time, allowed her a moment of escape.

Suddenly he was at the window. It startled her, of course, but didn't scare her. His air was of strength, of knowing. Mardie was still on the phone. Anna let her talk. She was unable to look away from the man.

"Anna" he said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes" she replied.

"I want you to have these".

With that he produced the roses that he'd been hiding below the window.

The roses were straggly, wild looking, with spikes and leaves. The stems had not been cut, but looked ripped from the bush. A tied piece of string kept them together, probably eight or ten in all.

He smiled. He proffered the bunch a half-inch closer. It was a gift. She took them, holding them awkwardly outside the minivan door. One of the thorns nicked her thumb.

She closed her eyes to sniff them, to find their perfume. They smelled odd, like no roses before in her life. Rich and fragrant, sure, but there was a kind of subtle coppery undertone.

By that time he'd started walking away, and was more distance down the street than seemed right for the seconds she'd been smelling. Biggish guy, biggish strides, longish hair. Unkempt.

The roses drew her back. Their colour was odd. The base of the petals was white, but the remainder a kind of rust red. She touched a petal. They were dry, but the colour rubbed off, like they'd been dyed. They had been dyed. She looked back up the street, and the man was still walking away.

"Mardie, are you there?" she asked, back to the phone.

"Sure, what happened, I've been talking for hours here".

"What do white roses mean?" asked Anna.

"White roses? Innocence, I think. Virginity? Oh, wait, I remember: new beginnings".

"And what do red roses mean?"

"Red? Give me a hard one why don't you? Red is for passion. Love. You know, lust. Why?"

"That's what I thought" said Anna, sounding far away.

A Versatile Dip

Thanks for all your comments on my race :) I may have dried out from last weekend's events, but my legs have been a bit slow to recover! That's ok, it'll give me time to bring up something I made... oh, I won't try to remember! I had roasted an eggplant and decided to make Hungry Girl's Creamy Eggplant Dip. My proportions were a little off as my eggplant wasn't as big as called for, but it was still yummy! I enjoyed it a few ways over the week:

Over heirloom tomatoes...


with homemade pita chips (seasoned w/salt, pepper, cumin, little cayenne)...


And maybe my favorite way...


This was a concoction almost entirely made in the microwave! Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do :) Brown and wild rice from a microwavable pouch, canned chickpeas (well-rinsed), broccoli and beans that I steamed... in the microwave with one of those steamer bags. Combined with the creamy dip, this made for an amazing lunch! Especially when the broccoli was from a family friend's garden and the beans from the farmers market were purple :)


Aren't they gorgeous? Even though they turned green after cooking, they still made me happy! I can't wait to get more eggplant... what's your favorite thing to do with it?

What is romance?

DocAnnie's description of romance is the best:

For me, it's mainly about making otherwise ordinary moments together feel as though no one else in the world exists except the two of you.

That captures it.

Cool. But there is still the question of whether romance just happens or if it can be manufactured. Ideally, romantic moments would pop into our lives like...umm...black holes in the universe. Okay, like unexpected bills in the mail. Alright, like winning lottery numbers. That's better. Winning lottery numbers.

If the media are our guide, our chances of romance are improved if there's a little forethought. For instance, to have a tender experience, first book a restaurant, get dressed, order wine and...you know, romance happens. Gondola rides are super-romantic, so get yourselves to Venice, hire a gondola and - bing! - romance.

Yeah, it sounds kinda cheesy to me.

My point is that there are two kinds of romantic moments; the spontaneous and the pre-prepared. The everyday moments of special connectedness must spring from a base of affection, but are otherwise random. It's like finding a wild tomato on your walk to work. They're special because they're natural and surprising.

Manufactured romantic moments are like hothouse tomatoes. We expect that they'll be available, and they will be of a certain quality. They won't taste the same as wild or home-grown tomatoes, and anticipation slightly dampens their impact. But they're tomatoes nonetheless.

Here's how advertisers see romance.




Romance Part 1, Romance Part 2, Romance Part 3.

Food Funny

Ok, my mother told me not to play with my food and I took that to heart. But she never saw the video that Lynzee Klingman just posted on her Facebook page.

Using Beethoven's 5th Symphony, the Shanghai Taro Dance Company from Osaka, Japan considers what's for breakfast.

Never was a menu so entertainingly performed. The funny thing is, even though this is a comedy piece, it made me hungry!

Novel Romance

I totally need to sit down and write a romance novel. Harlequin, the market leader, sells four books a second. Of all paperback fiction sold in the United States, 55% is categorized as romance. And the biggest romance-hogs spend $40 a month. I want some of that action. It can't be that difficult.

Or maybe it is. The vision of romanticized romance stuck in my head is the formal period piece. The characters are kinda stiff - ahem - and the whole thing is about as distant from real life as can be.

Then again, perhaps that is the point. Real, boring, tedious life is not romantic, so setting a work of escapist fiction in the suburbs doesn't fit the bill. Readers are probably looking for some idealized tale different from their own life, an experience with heightened emotions, lots at stake, and big decisions. That sounds like the same thought process that leads people to buy a gram of cocaine. But I'm a cynic.

Romance Part 1, Romance Part 2, Romance Part 4.