Sunday – the close of another beautiful weekend. I had to work today, but enjoyed some homemade pizza tonight.
These are tiny beers from Cincinnati called Little Kings. I had my first one ever today. Not bad.
Today is 10/10/10. For those of you that are fans of the Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 101010 is 42 in binary. And 42 is, of course, the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.
Cheers!
HAPPY TUESDAY!!!
What better reason to open a bottle of bubbly?
😀
Haven’t gone grocery shopping since coming back from vacation, so no food in the icebox tonight. We went to our local pho place for dinner… #53 for me and #32 for Monte.
Nom nom 🙂
When traveling through different places in the south we have tried and come to enjoy boiled peanuts. We’ve been wanting to try our hand at making some ourselves. The other day Monte found some green peanuts at a local Indian food market, and brought home several pounds.
We made a test batch last night and are making more today.
You start with pound of green peanuts. Wash them well and soak in cold water for about 30 minutes. Drain and put in boiling pot with about 2 quarts of water and 1/2 cup salt and boil for about 4-5 hours.
While reading my daily batch of news and blogs this morning, I came upon a blogpost that left me with an unshakable craving for crepes.
So I pulled out Joy of Cooking and whipped up some batter. It has to sit in the fridge for a bit, so by the time Monte gets up we can have crepes for breakfast.
Yum. Can’t wait.
If you, too, would like to make them, and don’t have a Joy of Cooking, here is the recipe:
Basic Sweet Crepes (makes about 12 7 1/2″ crepes)
Combine in a blender or food processor until smooth:
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
Pour batter into a pitcher or other container with a pouring lip. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 30 mins or refrigerate up to 2 days. (This allows the flour to thoroughly absorb the liquid and gives the gluten in the flour a chance to relax.)
Place a nonstick or seasoned crepe pan over medium heat. Coat with a little unsalted butter.
Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into pan and swirl pan to distribute evenly. Cook until top is set and underside is golden. Flip with fingers, fork or spatula. Cook other side and remove to warm plate or wax paper, if you want to stack them to freeze and save for later (for up to a month).
I like to eat mine with a little powdered sugar sprinkled on top.
Doray and Tom came by after work tonight to get Mr. Echo and take him home. They brought us a lovely souvenir from Bordeaux, too!
p.s. will birdsit for wine 🙂
Whenever a bunch of basil is picked out back, we put the leftovers in a vase. It makes the kitchen smell wonderful, and it keeps a few bunches of leaves fresh for some easy picking for the next day or two.
P.s. Happy Birthday Brian!
Burr grinder + Starbuck’s Verona + water = Mmmmmmmmmmm… coffffeeeeee. Let the day begin!
As I sit in my comfy chair and type this post, I’m enjoying a lovely mango marg daiquiri. I am not a huge fan of mixed drinks. I think I got that out of my system a long time ago (whew!). But I have come to enjoy a mango margarita when we go to the local Chuy’s.
So, for the last year or two I’ve been on the lookout for a good mango mixer to try to make one at home. Some that I’ve tried have been pretty poor. Last week I ran across a liter of mixer, the brand is Finest Call, so I decided to give it a try tonight. Not bad.
I had intended to make a margarita, but grabbed the rum instead, so — voila, it’s a daiquiri.
This is the moment I have chosen to share with you today. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am.
Pretty good mango marg/daiquiri recipe
2 oz mango puree (the label called for 4, but it would be way too sweet, imho)
1.5 oz rum or tequila
1.5 c crushed ice
combine in blender for 30 seconds
Today – get ready – is National Champagne Day!!! Whoo hoooooo!!
Pop ’em if you got ’em!
Rob made a quick run down to the coast yesterday and came back today with over a dozen blue crab that he caught in his traps near Port O’Connor. You know what that means — crab boil! So, we were treated to a fantastic dinner by Rob and Jen. (and, YES, that’s a stone crab claw!) Yum.
I had intended to get a before-picture of the crabs, but Jen and I were having such a good time chatting that we missed it. So, I’ll just have to settle for an after-picture.
What a nice evening.
We’re spending a weekend on land for a change 🙂 I have some things from work that need to get done before Monday. It’s also been a while since we worked in the yard. I thought today was the day it might finally hit 100 here, but it didn’t.
Monte made dinner tonight. This is a shot of the lovely caprese salad appy, with homegrown basil. We’ve really been enjoying the bumper crop of basil — putting it in as many dishes as we can. Main course was Rainbow Trout ala Monte…. delicious!
I wish I could have a summer full of days like today, not a few at a time squeezed in between 5 day work weeks. But, I’ll take ’em!
We love to grill. Year round. Weber kettles and charcoal, baby.
Tonight’s menu:
insalata caprese, grilled chicken, spinach risotto, and a decadent chocolate cake from Marty & Sue, who joined us for dinner.
Delicious!
Here’s how we do the chicken, in case you want to give it a try, too……
Grilled Chicken
1 whole chicken
a couple fresh rosemary sprigs
olive oil
kosher salt and ground black pepper
Prepare coals for indirect cooking (2 piles – on left and right side of grill). Clean chicken, rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper inside and out, stuff a few sprigs of rosemary inside (and sometimes a chunk of onion, apple, ..), tie the bird up and put in the center of the grill breast-side down (though we’ve tried both ways, I think it’s juicier this way). Cook for about 15 minutes per pound. Remove from grill and let sit 10-15 minutes before carving.
Long week. Chili’s for dinner. Cheers!
Sheila365 