I'm Free!

It's finally over. This is the last post for NaBloPoMo. I would like to say that you won't be hearing from me for a few days while I live it up, but most likely I'll be posting this weekend. It's hard being a blogger.

Every Fall semester, I usually whip up holiday cookies in time to pass them out to my teachers and bosses or whoever. I only have 6 people I can give them to this year. It kinda makes me sad. I'm such a loner. Anyways, I found a few recipes that I want to try and I finally have some guinea pigs. I don't want to make too many cookies because they won't get eaten, but I'll feel gipped if I don't make at least two kinds. So, four it is.

Homemade Fortune Cookies with a little message for each teacher.

Chocolate Drizzled Lemon Cookies because ohmygod they sound so good!

Caramel Apple Bites These are the obligatory fussy cookie that makes me feel like I actually did more than drop dough on a sheet and bake. Also, they use apple. I got some of those.

And Almond Butter Cookies- it's a paper recipe! Or cardboard really, since I got it off a butter package. I have a cookie press that I've always wanted to use but didn't really want to fuss with. This weekend, I'd like to fuss.

Delicata Squash and Pumpkin Seeds

Before I get into the recipe, I would like to address something. Recently, I've been getting more comments than I expected- not many, but plenty. When I first started blogging, I was on Livejournal. Since then, I haven't found a host with commenting features that have surpassed it. I don't like the fact that I can't directly comment to someone. There is the new feature that let's you see all new comments, but it's just not as good. Because of this, I'm hesitant to comment to anyone who's left a response in case they don't see it. I could e-mail them directly, but it's such a pain for a little 'thanks!' or 'yeah, me too'. So I've decided to just add another comment to theirs in the section. It won't guarantee that they'll see it, but it'll make me feel better. I still get to respond and they'll find it easier too. Due to this decision, I'll be going back in the next few days and responding to the comments that I've wanted to but shied away from.


My inner tightwad always yells at me when I waste the energy to cook something tiny in a big oven. Sometimes it's because it's won't work in my toaster oven, sometimes it's because I just don't wanna! Since I was wary of cooking one tiny delicata squash in my oven, I finally threw in those pumpkin seeds that have been looking at me petulantly. I didn't have natural cane sugar on hand, which is fine because only two of my pie plates were clean to bake the seeds in. Also, I didn't have any loose black tea but was so intrigued by the ingredients that I tore open a bag on my Yogi Tea Piccadilly Breakfast and hoped for the best.

I had less than a full cup of seeds to start with, so I used little of the wet ingredients called for. Still, you can't half an egg unless you can use the other right away, so meh. I found that one full tea bag was just under a teaspoon and only used one teaspoon of curry powder. Also, I used table salt because I don't have sea salt. I took a picture when I made the pumpkin chowder. The boyfriend cleaned them for me and they were just so beautiful in the bowl.



Baked Delicata Squash with Lime Butter
from this site



Verdict: It was okay. I had to add more lime, chili powder, and salt. It was like a fiesta in a squash. The delicata that I had didn't taste very sweet like most of the squash I've had. It could easily be sweet or savory. I think I'll be adding butter and brown sugar to the other half though. It's easier to eat when you scrape down the sides and mix with the topping.



As an addition, I'd like to say that the more I eat, the better the lime topping tastes with the squash. On second though, I might not sweeten up the other half.

Pumpkin Seeds
from here

Verdict: Meh. They taste like natural popcorn. I added a little sugar to the black tea seeds because they had no flavor. Disappointing. The curry ones weren't too bad. Kinda tasty. I think part of it was because my seeds had dried out in the refrigerator. I've never had good results with home-baked pumpkin seeds.

Junk Food Reviews

I've been junking it up here a lot lately, especially since it's the last week of school and finals are next week. School is dumb. Junk food is good.



California Pizza Kitchen: Five cheese and tomato pizza
Wow. This is a medium size, "gourmet" frozen pizza. It's $5 for something I could probably eat myself, but it's SO GOOD! I was amazed at this little thing. The tomatoes were surprisingly flavorful, the sauce was awesome (not too sweet, not too salty, tangy), and you could TASTE the cheeses. I know. Imagine flavorful cheese on a pizza- a frozen pizza at that. That's dangerous flavor. That's dangerously budget busting.

DiGiorno Ultimate: Ultimate Pepperoni
Well... it sure tasted like pizza! Eh. The pepperoni slices were nice and thick- what I call Red Barron pepperoni because that's one pizza brand that don't use no sissy slices. Otherwise, pizza.

DiGiorno Rising Crust: Spinach, mushroom, and garlic pizza
Again, pizza but without meat. It was okay. We ate it. But nothing special.

I haven't bought a frozen pizza in so long that I was mesmerized in front of the freezer cases. There are so many new kinds out! So many tantalizing combinations! I'll keep you updated as I try more. Or, you know, maybe I'll cook something.

December Challenge

This is a cross-post from my craft blog. No, I'm not going to count it as my post for Nablopomo today because I feel like it's cheating, but I do think it applies to this blog.

Mom. Rebekah. You are not allowed to visit the craft blog yet. You will see things there that are better left unseen until Christmas. Do Not Enter!

For everyone else, Fat Hippy is where you can hear me whine about my sewing machine and how I suck at knitting. I'm doing Nablopomo there as well.

~OOO~

Nablopomo is coming to a close and it tastes pretty bitter sweet. On one hand, I’ll be free again. I won’t feel rushed and have to pull something crafty out of my ass when all I’ve done that day is go to school, study, and pick my nose. On the other hand, I usually look forward to it. It’s become part of my daily routine. They say it only takes 3 weeks to form a new habit. While I won’t be posting everyday after November, I think I will be updating much more frequently then I used to.

This brings me back to the idea of monthly challenges. I’ve always loved the idea and wanted to do it, but never have. This was the first month and it sure helped to have people (suffering) blogging away with me. Only, finding monthly craft challenges hasn’t turned up many results. Plus, I don’t want to do just crafts, I want to challenge my life. I joined a Flickr group, Get Your Crafty On, where they host monthly challenges. I signed up to do a Christmas Ornament swap. I hope we get enough people because I think I have a cool idea and I’ve never done a swap before, though I don’t have much I can do with ornaments for myself.

Still, it doesn’t feel like enough. I don’t want another huge challenge like this month because, you know, Christmas Clusterfuck and all. But I will challenge myself.

I’m going to knit every day. It doesn’t have to be much, but I will keep finishing up these projects and moving on to learn more skills.

I’m going to read a book a week. I used to be such an avid reader. There are still times when I’ll tear through a couple books in a few weeks or so, but my usual reading is abysmal. Seriously, like 3 books a year and two are usually Harry Potters. There are so many more books I want to read and things I want to explore, but I manage to tell myself that I don’t want to read for whatever reason and I miss out. Not next month. I’m already into Wicked.

I’m going to cook one paper recipe a week. If you haven’t read my food blog, this might sound weird. I have a monumental stack of clipped recipes that need serious thinning. Is it so much to ask? To cook one paper recipe a week? No, but I’ve managed to avoid it before.

This sounds good to me and I’m excited about it. Anyone else have a December challenge? Anyone want to join me?

Italian Grilled Cheese

It's not exactly like you need a recipe for grilled cheese, but this sounded good, was easy, and was from the Paper Pile. So here we go.



Italian Grilled Cheese
Modified from unknown paper recipe

1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into slices
4 slices white bread
3 eggs
3/4 c milk
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
2 T olive oil

Make two sandwiches from the bread and cheese.

Whisk milk, eggs, salt, and seasoning in a pan. Dip both sides of sandwiches in egg mix.

Heat oil in a pan. Cook sandwiches on both sides until golden brown and cheese has melted.

Makes 2 sandwiches




I don't know why I am incapable of making anything in a pan without it getting stuck and tearing to bits. It's really sad. Also, I scrambled up the remaining egg mixed and had it on the side- not bad.

Apple Gouda Quesadilla

I used this recipe as a guide, followed reviewer advice, and adjusted for my own taste. Here's what I came up with.



1/2 apple, sliced
1 slice bacon
2 small flour tortillas
1 T spicy or tangy mustard
1 chive stalk
about 1 cup sliced smoked gouda, enough to cover the tortilla

Fry bacon in skillet until crisp. Remove and crumble the bacon. Lay one tortilla down in bacon grease. Immediately add gouda slices, followed by apple slices, chives, and tortilla spread with mustard. Cook on medium heat until brown. Flip and brown the other side.

Serves 1

Sour Cream Apple Pie with Streusel

That's the one! The one I meant to make for Thanksgiving but never got around to. You wanna know how it was? Honestly? Well, alright. It was fantastic. See this slice? I only cut it for a picture and was going to put it right back after one bite for judging. Then I wolfed down the whole thing even though, only two minutes before, the thought of something sweet kinda made my stomach turn. I braved sickness for this pie. It's incredible.

I did worry about the amount of filling. There's nothing worse than an underfilled pie, but the smell of burnt sugar killing my baking pans is pretty bad too. It filled it to the brim. I lived in fear. But after the first baking stint, it did just fine. No cooking over or anything. You could use a deep-dish crush to worry less, but I don't think there's a need. Here's the fresh-poured and half-cooked versions.



I also heeded reviewer advice about the streusel topping. I kept my butter cold and crumbled it with a pastry blender. It was hard to get the right texture (and keep it on the pie) but it turned out pretty well. Fresh-sprinkled and cooked.



The apples stand up well next to the creamy tang of sour cream filling. Really, you have to try this. It's so freaking easy and delicious that's it's crazy for you not to make it. Go back to Simply Recipes for this pie and tell me about it. Of course, I only used up two apples in the filling... I could always make a few more.

Welcome to My Nightmare

There's something I've got to show you. Not it's not a clean refrigerator- I'm working on it as we speak. It's something more magical. Here's a few pics from potato salad day.



This is my lovely stove top, the site of most of the cooking for said recipe.



This is the microwave area, but hey? Isn't that familiar?



Let's take a closer look.



Yep, that's the tiny spot where most of my food pictures are taken. It's currently occupied by some squash, brown sugar, and other... stuff.

My relaxing dining table.



And the computer table- still my most frequent dining spot.



Oh, remember these Starbucks cups? From two weeks ago? Yeah, still on the counter, souring away.




It's utterly wrong, isn't it? I had to clean half the kitchen just for enough counter space to do the potato salad. But! I can occasionally redeem myself. Look at today's pictures. And these were taken before I finished cleaning- it's even better now!





Even the worst of us can get it together sometimes.

Today was another day that I meant to make a certain apple recipe and didn't. In my defense though, this was way more important.

Ben & Jerry's Creme Brulee

I did indeed go back for it. The custard ice cream base is very creamy and lightly flavored. I think a vanilla ice cream would have overwhelmed it. There is also a caramelized sugar swirl that lends itself well to the sweet, mellow flavor. It actually reminds me of some of the dulce de leche ice cream I've had with small, gritty chunks of crunchy sugar. It was very good, but very sweet and almost cloying after a while. Still, hits the spot.



I picked up a package of Hershey's Extra Dark with Pure Espresso. It's 60% cocao with bits of espresso embedded in the squares. Dude. They're little packets of unadulterated joy. Smooth dark chocolate and gritty, crunchy bits of coffee. They're good.



Really good.

Sorry for the brevity of this post. Someone was being selfish.

Pumpkin Chowder

I have a tendency to bookmark recipes that look good, buy all the ingredients, then realize the recipe is kinda funny. This one looked weird to me. You cook half the ingredients on low, then have huge 1" chunks of potato and pumpkin. I don't know about you, but I don't think I want to bite into a hunk of half-cooked pumpkin while eating soup. Their instructions looked funny and they didn't add the stuff listed. So I modified the cooking instructions drastically to actually use all the ingredients and adjust the texture of the soup. Just as an aside, that pumpkin was Fort Knox. I had to call the boyfriend over to get into it. Even then, it had guards that wouldn't give up the goods. After a good half hour of struggling with it, I didn't care if I had enough pumpkin. It would have to do.



It turned out pretty well. We enjoyed it, but it benefited from some chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika. Next time, I would add more bacon- I snacked on it- and some heat. Maybe a chili or some hot sauce. The soup is milky enough to benefit from the heat and tone it down if you added too much. And, I hate to say it, but it might have been better with chunks of... something else. I refuse to say onion. I think a few fresh chives thrown in at the end would be good. Otherwise, good soup.



Pumpkin Chowder
modified from this

1/2 c bacon, diced
2 c onion, chopped
1 lb pumpkin, chopped
4 c chicken stock
2 large potatoes, chopped bite-size
2 tsp curry powder
2 T flour
1 c milk or half'n'half

1. Fry bacon in soup pot. Cook until crispy, then transfer bacon to paper towels. Add diced onion to fat. Cook until soft.

2. In separate pot, start boiling potatoes until almost soft- they'll finish softening later.

3. Add pumpkin chunks to pot, stir mixture. Smell. Enjoy the heady scent of bacon and sweet pumpkin and onions. Add stock and bring to a boil. Cook until pumpkin is soft- about 10 minutes.

4. Add curry to soup pot. In measuring cup, mix flour with some of the hot soup broth to form a liquidy paste. Whisk into the pot.

5. Add soup pot contents to blender and puree in batches. Put back in pot.

6. Strain potatoes, add them and bacon to soup pot. Bring back to a quick boil then set aside. Cook mixture until warm, then whisk in milk.

Three Potato Salad

I can see you all shuddering. You know what? I was too. We've all heard of people who like potato salad, but most of us have never seen them. They're myths. They're remnants of Nazi propaganda. They are not real people. Yet, at every barbecue, at every party, at every "down-home" restaurant, sure enough it's on the menu. If you're like me, you still order it every once in a while to confirm that no, you still don't like it and proceed to push it around your plate for the rest of the meal.

It was on one such occasion that I found something... edible. Not great, but a good enough idea that I've been musing on potato salad ever since. It's taken me a good year and an overabundance of potatoes to get around to it. That's a lotta spud.



It was a three potato salad that was both savory and a little sweet, with a creamy dressing that wasn't smothering. This recipe isn't quite what I imagine the perfect potato salad to be, but for the first time I'm eating it willingly and I'm enjoying it. With the mayo base, it still has that distinctly "potato salad" taste, but it is complemented by the calm palate of the russet and red potatoes against the slight sweetness of sweet potatoes.

What's better is that I made it myself. The older I get, the less picky I get. Yet I still find myself taking an inordinate amount of time to eat foods that I otherwise like because I have to eat around things. Spending all night dissecting your plate is no fun. I added things to this salad that I would never contemplate eating otherwise. I hate to even say them. Can I just whisper in your ear?

Miracle Whip and celery.

There, I said it. Out loud and in print. It's official. I take personal offence to the idea of Miracle Whip, though if I'm being honest I will eat it on a grilled bologna sandwich. But that's it! I swear. And there was a time when the smell of raw celery would make me dry heave. It wasn't pretty. My food processor has allowed me to eat all kinds of things I never would before. Some celery and chives whipped up with mayo, a little Miracle Whip, and mustard was fine. Even... kinda tasty. The recipe only calls for mayo, but I was at the bottom of the jar where lurks the funktified chunks of what was once mayo. So I was brave and substituted to get the full cup. Enough of my bravery. The recipe.



Three Potato Salad
Adapted from this one

2 medium to large sized sweet, red, and white potatoes. Have roughly the same amount of each.
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup mustard
1 stalk celery
2 chives, green parts only
salt and pepper to taste
relish, hard boiled eggs, ect optional

Peel and chop potatoes into bite-sized chunks. They suggest boiling them in separate pots, but I think you could do them all in one with the same results. Make sure they're all done, if overdone then they'll just be creamier. No biggie.

Drain and let cool slightly. Mix mayo, mustard, chopped celery and chives in a bowl. Add in salt, pepper, and optional condiments to taste. Mix with potatoes. Done.

They say to chill, but I liked mine still warm.


Just a little note on sprouting potatoes. Yes, you can eat them, just make sure to cut away all green bits because they are poisonous. Reassuring, right? Also, am I the only one charmed by sprouting potatoes? Especially, little reds? There's something so homey about it. Little blots of color, delicately shaped roots on a background of trusty potato skin. I found two potatoes in my "cellar" a few months ago that had not only started to sprout, but were ready to put out leaves. A few days in a pot with some dirt gave me a very pretty vining display for my front porch. I hope to finish these off before that since it's nearly cold here. Maybe next spring.

More Disgusting Food

Inspired by my latest find, I went on a search for more interesting, weird, and downright distasteful food. I found several links that I thought might be of interest.

A list with pictures of some of Japans's weirdest convenience foods.

Reviews of a Food Snob: Weird Food Compendium A list of the weird foods he/she has personally eaten.

A Wiki tidbit on the fugu that's been popping up a lot.

Grocery Warning: The Seven Most Dangerous Ingredients in Conventional Foods I hate these things. I don't really want to know what I'm eating out of a can. This also reminds me of my lovingly germaphobe ex-boss.

And the motherload: an entire site dedicated to weird food from around the world, broken down by category. I lost myself for a good hour here. Weird-Food.com

Ew

Some things you just have to share, and since I've cooked nothing today, found no good recipes, and have nothing else to talk about, I am forced to share. I found this website last night from a link on another blog. After laughing my ass off, I started to explore the site and came across a certain article.

The 6 Most Terrifying Foods in the World by Tim Cameron will make you laugh so hard you puke. Well, you might just want to puke anyways. I knew of two foods before reading this- lutefisk and casu marzu- and knew the history behind them, but to read it from a fresh perspective was hilarious. Just... don't go on a full stomach. Kay?

Squash Recipes

Yes, another one of those days. See, I thought I actually would cook today- it's my 1 year anniversary with the Poor Schmuck. But since I have two tests in two days in my two hardest classes, not so much. However, I have been sifting throught the interesting squash recipes on the web. So far, I've bookmarked more than I'll ever make for each type I bought.

Buttercup Squash
Baked Buttercup Squash- a little sweet and savory
Buttercup Squash and Leek Soup with Herb Butter
Buttercup Squash with Apples
Garam Masala Buttercup Squash Fry
Buttercup Squash, Parsnip, and Cranberry Bean Stew- I didn't know what a cranberry bean was- shows what I know.

Delicata
Baked Delicata Squash with Lime Butter
Delicata Delish- this is a savory dish with quinoa. I've got a little bag of it and have no idea what to use it for, so this might be interesting.
Garlic Delicata

Acorn
Beet Soup in Roasted Acorn Squash

Butternut
Candied Butternut Squash with Cinnamon and Honey
Carmelized Butternut Squash

Hubbard
Grandma's Sweet Hubbard Squash Custard Pie
Hubbard Squash in Sour Cream
Savory Hubbard Seeds

Turban
Turban Squash Soup

Pumpkin
Pumpkin Chowder- bacon and pumpkin? Could be good!
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds- Three Ways
A whole page of Pumpkin Soup recipes.

Sweet Dumpling
Savory Stuffed Sweet Dumplings
Simple Sweet Dumpling

Also a two-for-one!
Savory Acorn and Sweet Dumpling Squash Soup

Ben & Jerry's Peach Cobbler

I've talked once about my ice cream ways. How I tend to eat a few spoonfuls and have had enough yet eat it year round. I love it- just not in huge doses. Of course, every once and a while, I'll sit around and eat half a pint. Last night was one of those nights.



Ben & Jerry's has a few new flavors out- I picked up the Peach Cobbler. It was between that and the creme brulee which sounds great right about now... Anyways, it rocked. Peach ice cream with a peach swirl, peach chunks, and cinnamon shortbread pieces. Overall, really good. It wasn't that overly fake peach flavor that a lot of people use and the peach chunks were real fruit. The swirl tasted good though it had a baby-food consistency. I would take out the shortbread bits though. They lacked flavor and were disconcertingly lifeless is such a fresh-tasting treat. Despite that, I would recommend this when you're looking for something lighter-tasting and fruity. I'll let you know how the creme brulee is later.

Look What I Made!

Okay, I made roasted potatoes with garlic and rosemary. Very tasty. But you don't care about that.

You care about this!



Well, my mom cares anyway. Hi mom!

I had food in the post too! And here's more! Here's the picture of my asparagus recipe I finally found! Probably the prettiest picture I've taken.


I just had to show you my first quilt. It's a baby blanket for a friend's first child. I'm going to have to pull a post out of my ass tomorrow (again) because it's Baby Shower day and this weekend is packed. Wish me luck!

Brown Sugar Acorn Squash

I mentioned before how much I loved this squash- I grew up on it. It's so sweet and juicy and really lets you enjoy the dessert side of this squash. Plus, it's another dish that hardly requires a recipe and needs little attention. I couldn't find a different between the regular green acorn squash and the gold acorn, so I went ahead and used the gold.



Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place in a baking dish cut-half up with a little water in the bottom. Fill with brown sugar and place butter on top. Depending on how big your squash halves are, you will need more or less. I used a few tablespoons of brown sugar between the two and less than a tablespoon of butter because my cups were tiny. Also, vary the sugar level depending on your taste and diet requirements. Bake at about 375F for roughly 20 minutes. Mainly, bake in hot oven until done. It will have soft and golden flesh that's easy to eat with a spoon. If you're up to it, you can baste the exposed cut parts with the sugar-butter sauce as you bake. It'll turn out just as good without. Just as an aside, I added more sugar after this picture was taken.

Behold my knife skills!

Spaghetti Squash with Garlic Butter

Since I had that first bit of squash, I can't stop. Also, all the recipes I looked up for it were too fiddly or- the horror!- faux pasta. I hate that. It's wrong and stupid and WRONG. Except for the instances mentioned yesterday, but mostly WRONG! So, I shut out the world and made a bowl of spaghetti squash- which, again, didn't really need a recipe.

Nuke the squash as stated before. In a pan, heat a knob or two of butter in a pan, saute minced garlic and a little black pepper until butter is flavorful. Mix in squash and eat.

I would also like to add a note on Starbucks: Their gingerbread lattes are what made me not like lattes all those years ago, but their eggnogs lattes... let's just say getting one every day for almost a week can't be wrong. So creamy and good and actually eggnoggy-tasting, but not overwhelming. That's not all the containers I had; I finally threw some of them out.



Which reminds me, I would like to make a gingerbread house and homemade eggnog for the first time this year. Don't let me forget!

Spaghetti Squash

Because of all this squash, I've been searching for interesting-looking recipes. Through all of this, I knew that the spaghetti squash didn't stand a chance. As picky as I was as a child, I remember loving the taste and crisp-crunchiness in lightly spiced spaghetti squash. You couldn't get me to touch carrots, onions, beans or anything else remotely healthy, but I would dig in with gusto when presented with this. Having one just lazing on my kitchen counter proved too much for me. I am weak. I love it. So last night, at two am while I was frantically trying to memorize a speech, I prepared my beloved squash.

Honestly, this does not merit a recipe. Cut squash down the middle, microwave for 8-10 minutes in a dish with a little water. When done, scoop out with a fork, garnish with a little butter, salt and pepper. Enjoy. Sorry about the crappy pic. It was late and I was frazzled- with flavor.



I've seen so many dishes that use spaghetti squash as pasta. I think this is a great alternative for those who cannot process gluten or otherwise forbid themselves carbs. I however don't want anything to cover up the taste that I love so much. In saying this, I did find two recipes that looked quite tantalizing by livening up the delicate taste with lemon or with garlic. Simply dressed so the true flavors can shine through.

More as I cook them.

Look at Squash!

It's been crazy over here. It'll be crazy again tomorrow. And probably for the rest of the week. So, while I've been dreaming of my squash, I haven't had a chance to do anything with them. In the spirit of that, I'm feeding off inspiration for later and I'll share it here. I've found a few links that I think I might be using for recipes.

Simply Recipes has an index just for winter squash recipes. I swear, there's nothing this chick hasn't cooked.

The Wednesday Chef is the one who started this whole mess. Her recipe for delicata squash and celery root puree was what made me stop and figure out what a delicata squash was and the rest was history.

I can't think of anything more beautiful or appropriate for a turban squash than stuffing it. Just think of the presentation points on that one.

There's also my favorite recipe for brown sugar acorn squash. Come to think of it, it's probably the only thing I've ever had with acorn squash. Could be wrong. But I'm pretty sure that's where I'm headed, so look out for that.

I've been obsessed with making mosaics since I was told where to go. So Winter Squash Medley!



1. Winter Squash, 2. winter squash, 3. Roasted Acorn Squash and Garnet Yam Soup with Bacon and Caramelized Apples, 4. Ingredients for Sam's Healthwise Food Cakes", 5. Soupe à la courge et gingembre cristallisé - Pumpkin Soup with Crystallized Ginger, 6. mmm squash, 7. Winter Squash Soup . . . with a KICK!, 8. Winter Squash, 9. Winter Squash

No Self Control

Okay, there's no recipe today either. But I can explain! No one sells fennel right now. Really, I looked. I tried! So my recipe fell flat in the store. It's just that, after the fennel defeat, I was loitering around the produce section. This is always a bad idea where I'm concerned. Especially since I was in PUBLIX and sometimes they have STUFF. Like, cool stuff. Stuff that you see on TV shows but they don't sell in South Georgia.

Today they had a squash selection, and yeah, they do sell that in South Georgia, but shut up. They had all KINDS of squash. Not just normal stuff. Variety will be the death of me because I have NO SELF CONTROL. None. It's heart-wrenching, I know. But look at my spoils!



I uh... bought one of each. But I kept them small! I have pumpkin, butternut, buttercup, spaghetti, acorn, hubbard, turban, delicata, sweet dumpling, and gold acorn. 10 ain't bad, right?

Plus, I used paper bags and bought one of those Thanksgiving bags for charity. I feel this offsets my utter idiocy.

Of course, this reminds me of the last time I was caught unawares in the Publix produce section. Only that time, I was meserized by fruit.



Or when I went apeshit over plants.


One day, self-restraint might come in handy. Until then, I take pictures.

Chocolate

There have been a few types of chocolate that I've meant to talk about here, but keep forgetting. So let's get straight to it, shall we?

Choco-Lina: Rosa Pfeffer Pink Pepper 70% Cocoa- Yep, you read right. Pink pepper berries are spread in sheep's milk dark chocolate. The result? I'm not so fond of it. It sounded interesting, but the pepper doesn't add heat so much as a funky flavor.

Hachez: Cocoa D'Arriba Mango Chili 77%- Again, not so impressed. You can smell the mango when you open it, but the flavor tends to disappear quickly, leaving you with chili that has more of that funky not hot flavor. I don't really like that.

Dolfin Milk Chocolate with Masala- Now, I love trying any kind of unlikely flavored chocolate. As you've seen, I've found quite a few that I didn't think worked. This worked wonderfully to my great surprise. The masala has an undercurrent that works wonderfully with sweets while that little bit of heat made it less cloying. Very nice.

Cote D'Or Noir 86%- 86%, alright? It was like eating cocoa powder. Good, but only when I need an extreme chocolate fix.

New Life Tranquility Chocolate and Lavender bar- Um. I have it on good authority that lavender will blend beautifully with chocolate. I just haven't found any evidence here. The boyfriend didn't mind, but it almost taste like crunching down on a juniper berry to me. Very strange, but I found it to have that strange bitter flavor that goes well with gin and less with sweets. I didn't like it. At all. I even threw the box away before I could get a picture.



It doesn't help that I really want dessert. I'm still craving the dessert I ordered and PAID FOR at Captain D's last night that they forgot to put in my bag. Bastards. I was going to add the recipe for my mom's Very Chocolate Cake. Then I lost it. More correctly, I lost it before, but still. I'll have to find it again, but it's good enough to wait for. Promise.