Tormented Kitchen

I love sweets. The past few days, all I’ve been able to think about is eating. I finally figured out why I’m having cravings. Hormones getting back on track and all that. No I’m not pregnant again. Positively not pregnant, things are just getting back to normal. I have been raiding the pantry wishing we had cookies, staring into the freezer wondering where the chocolate Breyer’s ice cream went, gazing into the liquor cabinet thinking of whipping up a special hot chocolate. You know those days. I guess after a good day of wishing for cookies, I broke down and made some. I don’t know why I resisted so much. Maybe it had something to do with feeling fat and frumpy and trying to be good. My mission Get Skinny is coming along much more slowly than I would like. But I’ve had many setbacks, namely all the yummy donuts and cookies that are so hard to resist. I have very low resistance when it comes to chocolate chip cookies. I can inhale a half dozen off the cooling rack before I...

This recipe is basically one of trial and error that constantly evolves each time I make it. It began as a recipe from a French cookbook for Zucchini Quiche. Well, since neither Justin or myself particularly like zucchini, I changed that right away to other vegetables. I tried broccoli (which is good when the florets are realy small) but we just love spinach. So spinach it is. By the way, spinach is a SuperFood so it's nice to find a way to eat it without noticing the vegetable-ness. I have also changed up the cheese blend and every time it's good no matter what I use. I happen to prefer Colby-Jack, or a Mexican blend, but sometimes I use whatever is on hand. Sometimes it's a blend of provolone, cheddar, and Swiss cheese. We love cheese so it always tastes good. Ingredients 1 9-inch blind baked pie shell 1/4 c. finely diced onion 1 clove garlic, mashed or diced (or 1 tsp. from a jar) 2 Tablespoons butter 1 c. diced ham 1/2 c. frozen chopped spinach 1/2 to 3/4 c...

Hey remember this entry about peeling citrus fruit with a staple remover ? Well the handy little staple remover has found another use. I use it for shelling pistachios. Sometimes those little buggers are hard to crack with your bare hands. I tried crushing them with the handles of my scissors. I found that just prying them open with the staple remover is more effective. Insert the small metal protuberance into the crack of the pistachio. Run it down to lengthen the crack and twist to pop it apart. Viola. Nuts.

Nice, flaky, pie crust is one of Justin's favorite things. He even eats the unbaked scraps. This recipe is kind of funny. It makes up a nice mix that I just add water to. All the other crust recipes I've seen you make it all right when you need it. I'll make up a batch and keep it in the fridge so it's easier to whip up a pie than starting completely from scratch. I use this crust for everything sweet and savory from apple pie to quiche. (I will post my quiche recipe someday soon. Promise!) Ingredients 6 c. flour 1 T salt 2 c. shortening Method 1. Mix flour, salt, and shortening in a large mixing bowl using a pastry cutter until an evenly sandy texture is achieved. 2. Store mix in refrigerator in a sealed plastic bag or container up to three months. 3. To make one crust to fit a 9" pie dish, put 1 1/2 c. mix in a bowl and add 4 or 5 Tablespoons cold water. 4. Blend well and and form into a ball. Dough should be sort of dry. If it's sticky add more of the...

Yes, yet another yummy recipe from my mom. It's another one of those recipes that I have no idea where she found it, but it's worth keeping. Ingredients ½ c. butter, softened ½ c. shortening 2 c. packed brown sugar 2 eggs ¼ c. water 1 tsp. vanilla 4 c. all-purpose flour 1 ½ tsp. baking powder 1 ½ tsp. baking soda ¼ tsp. salt 1 c. flaked coconut Method 1. Using a stand mixer, cream butter, shortening, brown sugar until light and fluffy. 2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. 3. Add eggs, vanilla, and water to mixer. Mix well. 4. Add dry ingredients to mixer. Mix well. 5. Add coconut and mix to incorporate. 6. *Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2-4 hours. 7. *Shape into balls. 8. Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Flatten into rectangles and press the tines of a floured fork on top for texture. 9. Bake 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees F, or until lightly browned. 10. Cool on the sheet 2 minutes, then transfer to a rack t...

I got this recipe from my mom, good old cooking-frenzy mom. Did I ever tell you about the time she made these at my house? Nope? It was about 3 years ago, a tad more, I think I was pregnant with Eric and we were living in the little house on Hibiscus Court. Well, she made this huge batch of batter and stuck the leftover, unused batter in the fridge. I didn't realize there was waffle batter in there. Mom and Dad went home. The next day I open the fridge door and there is this weird batter stuck to everything from your knees down, all over the shelf, down the side and back, and into the produce drawers. It took a lot of scrubbing the get the semi-dried out, freakishly puffy batter cleaned out. But other than that one freakish time, these are awesome waffles. I normally just cook up any leftover batter and freeze the waffles so I always have waffles on hand. Homemade waffles instead of Eggos...yum. I took these photos at Mom's place, hence the variation in decor. P.S...

As many of my close friends and family members know, I don't drink coffee. Ever. At all. I tried it, and after a long while, I decided it sucked. Now, on the other hand, I LOVE tea. Hot tea. Cold tea. Tea latte. Chai tea. Tea in food. Green tea ice cream. Tea, tea, tea! One of my favorites is Thai iced tea. It seems like a very complicated concoction, but it really isn't that difficult to make. The key is finding good loose Thai tea leaves. I have a hard time finding loose Thai tea locally, so you can either buy it online at Adagio's Gourmet Teas or go to San Francisco's Chinatown. I personally buy Thai tea whenever we go to the bay area at Red Blossom Tea Co. in San Francisco. It's part of our after-Thanksgiving tradition. Ingredients 8 cups water (2 quarts) 3/4 to 1 cup loose Thai tea leaves 1 cup sugar (or more or less to taste) cream, whole milk, half and half, evaporated milk, or other milk-like substitute (some people like coconut milk or soy milk...