J D Salinger

J.D. Salinger died the other day. In his honor, I'm sharing the following link because the phonies at the New Yorker made it *seem* like they were giving free access to some of his old stories, at least briefly, but they were only doing that for subscribers to the New Yorker. Pricks.

The Uncollected Writings of Jerome David Salinger.

Excuses

I have so many half-written posts, that it's even more unreal than the tournament. This is partially because I've been on a diet and all the foods that I've been making for myself, while extremely edible, are rather repetitive and boring (e.g. baked chicken/salmon with brown rice/quinoa and spinach/broccoli/brussels sprouts). I have made a few interesting dishes, but mostly I've been crazy busy.

You see, this semester is the one in which I present a defense in order to pass into doctoral candidacy. That sounds super fancy, but it really amounts to a shitload of work and with my guilt complex, means that I'm pretty much done with blogging until I finish my thesis, which should be some time in May (I hope). I'm going to try to post sporadically, but it's definitely not going to be more than a few times between now and then because I won't have time to really cook or write (aside from my thesis).

Shred It.

I've been cooking a lot lately, but nothing that merits* recipes. I've been trying to be good about what I've been making and eating, and I have been, but that means that everything is sort of boring. Mostly it's baking a lot of chicken and salmon and eating salads. I've also started the 30 Day Shred, which is where Jillian Michaels sort of yells at you to do stuff for 20 minutes and you're supposed to lose weight. I guess I'll wait for 28 days to see whether or not I've been truly shredded. So far, I'm mostly sore.

I sort of carb-bombed myself tonight (which totally makes the 30 day shred worth it :-P) with this gem:

French bread pizza for the lazy

1/2 loaf crusty french bread, cut in half lengthwise
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
oregano
salt+pepper
granulated garlic
red pepper flakes

Set oven to 350. This is actually just a token. You probably don't need to heat this with the way that I made it. Combine all ingredients (besides the bread) in a small sauce pan. Heat through and season to taste. Spread bread with a lot of sauce and the bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

So I just submitted a modified version of this recipe for the Aiming Low backburner recipe contest. The modified version includes things like "olive oil" and "cheese" for all those who believe that pizza deserves lactose. :)

*just because this doesn't *merit* a recipe doesn't mean that it won't get one

Making Amends...

So it's been awhile. A big howdy to the three readers that I have left (Chris, Kyle, LeeAnne...). I spent the 17-29 Dec in Michigan generally bumming around and eating (amazing) restaurant food with a break in the middle for beef wellington and green bean casserole on Christmas Eve. Granted, I was doing my usual tour of Michigan restaurants, but combined with the holidays and what was to come, I've gained about 4 pounds in the past month. Sadness.

While the nonstop pigging out in Michigan was fun, it was even more fun to come back to my new house to a kitchen that was screaming to be used. I obliged and threw together a New Year's Eve dinner with all of my aforementioned readers and Colby and made the following:

cheese plate with:
baked brie
comte
Saint Andre (something or other soft cheese)
gouda

charcuterie plate with:
prosciutto di parma
culatello (which is like the best part of the prosciutto, but my underdeveloped palette couldn't really tell the difference)
pepper encrusted cured sausage

hummus
sundried tomato dip
butternut squash soup
mini beef wellington (again, I know, but it's delicious)
Zingerman's mac'n'cheese
shrimp cocktail
crab cakes

And I think there could have been more, but we all ate (and drank) ourselves into oblivion that night. Usually home cooking is much healthier than eating in restaurants, but new years eve was definitely the exception, which leads me to my next announcement: I'm going on a diet to make up for the excess (weight) that came with the holidays.

I'm going to try to chronicle some of the healthy recipes that I'm making. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to need all the motivation I can get... but one last "bad" recipe (that isn't even that bad) for the road:

Sundried tomato bread spread (Adapted from Gourmet)

1 c sundried tomatoes (if packed in oil, drained)
1/2 c walnuts, toasted
2 T water
1.5 T red wine vinegar
1/2 shallot lobe (~1 T)
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste

pulse all ingredients in a food processor until it forms a paste. Add salt to taste.