My History of Cooking

Apparently, when I was little, I could crack an egg with one hand.

That's what my mom tells me.

I suppose I got it from my grandmother.  Nan had a long history of cooking and baking.  She passed away when I was eight, and my memories associated with her are baking and being my only babysitter.  Years later, people would still remember things she made, such as a lemon chiffon cake.

The recipe that I most connect her with is Divinity.  Ah, the elusive Divinity.  See how it prowls across the barren landscape... Ok. It doesn't prowl.  But it is very elusive and temperamental. Made from mainly eggs whites, powdered sugar, and (traditionally) pecans.  We did walnuts.  You have to do this recipe exactly right.  Under the right conditions, or else it turns out like rubber cement.  It did, one out of the two times Mom and I made it.

When I was a little older, I would sometimes watch cooking shows with Mom on PBS on Saturdays.  Our favorites were the ones with Julia Child, especially the series with Jaques Pepin. (Those were the best ones.)

Several years ago, Mom found a box of Nan's recipes and took it upon herself to organize and type them up.  That was easier said than done.  Some were newspaper clippings, but most of them were in Nan's handwriting.  Furthermore, the recipes were often in shorthand and sometimes didn't have exact measurements, and Mom had to figure them out.  Mom collects recipes, and I have too, for a while.  Just look at my Pinterest board.

In getting me to try new foods as a toddler, Mom would hide her judgements/distaste of them.  It worked.  I loved sometimes-considered unconventional foods (shrimp pizza, anyone?).  I absolutely love Brussels Sprouts and cauliflower.  I am rather proud, and shocked, that I got her liking seaweed salad at the Japanese restaurant.

The Host

Today I took Mom with me to go see "The Host." I didn't really have any expectations for it. I wasn't all that interested in it until I saw the trailer. As you may remember, I slogged my way through the book.

But now I'd like to give it another try.

Because I liked this movie.

I had misgivings about Saorise as Melanie when I first heard about it, because she seemed a little young, but she's the right age for this role. Diane is really good as the seemingly nice Seeker, and she plays the villain well near the end.

The story wasn't too hard to follow, and the filmmakers handled Melanie and Wanderer's conversations well.

I guess the aliens really liked Ikea. And chrome cars. And white.

Aspects I really liked were the cave sets and desert scenery. The aliens, in their basic form, are actually really pretty. The special effects were decent, and the closing credits were pretty. (Well, they were.) The ending sets the stage for a sequel, which there may be; at least in novel form, for right now.  Mom liked it, too.

PS: tried the Raising Caine's restaurant today. Another pleasant surprise.

Food Find

Here is a recent food find....

I am in love with the new breadsticks that Walmart got in.  They are Barvarian Pretzel Breadsticks.

They are insanely good, especially brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with salt and heated in the oven.

Chewy on the outside, and soft on the inside.  I have a couple in the oven right now.

I was telling my coworker about them, and she mentioned trying them with garlic salt or something like that.  Or was it cinnamon sugar?  One of us must have mentioned the latter.  Now that I think about it, I'll definitely have to try the cinnamon option.

I hope Walmart never stops making these.  Or I'll just have to buy them all out. :-D

Ok, the more realistic option is to just find another company that makes them.

Carb and bread lovers, rejoice.

Food Findings, etc.

My mom made chicken salad with grapes and pecans; it was really good. How to dress up frosting: take buttercream-flavored frosting, add a little vanilla extract, and a spoonful of sour cream. It's also very good. I really want to make a unique cake, like a cake with characters. Something cool. I did a handmade Mother's Day card, and that went over very well. I hadn't made a card since I was eight or something.

Sushi Salad

OK, before you start typing in another address in your browser's bar, let me explain. 

This really isn't all that bad. 

This recipe for Sushi Salad I found on the back of a bag for Nishiki rice.  Nishiki rice is Japanese rice that's used for sushi.  And I love it.  Even my mom's gotten to love it.  But I love "fake" sushi (i.e., the California roll- no raw fish, etc.).  She doesn't.  So... I read the recipe and decided to try it.  I wanted to put in a few additions to it.  It calls for the Nishiki rice, green onions, shrimp, rice wine vinegar, celery, and sesame seeds and avocado for garnish. 

I cooked the rice, let it cool, and added in the ingredients.  I didn't have any celery at the time, so I used shelled edamame- keeping with the Japanese theme.  I didn't have green onions either, I sort of forgot to buy them.  What I wanted to add to the recipe was Nori- dried seaweed.  But Target, Walmart, Randall's, and another store didn't have it.

Grrr. 

I didn't have cooked shrimp, either, so I substituted Krab.  You know, that stuff.  It's used in the California roll.  I should have just gone ahead and bought the shrimp. 

At one point Mom goes ahead and tells me that one needs to be careful in just adding things to a recipe off the top of his or her head.

Regarding the sesame seeds... they were really dull, even after toasting them.  Maybe I didn't toast them long enough.  There was a bottle of sesame oil, so I added some to the seeds, and that did the trick.  A little goes a long way, and it smells great. 

After mixing everything together, I let it chill for a bit, then added sliced avocado on top. 

It tasted pretty good.  Even Mom liked it.  Adding the vinegar made it good.  It's got potential.  I see where it could be tweaked in the future.

And I still want to find the Nori. 

Cereal Games

Hey.  This will be another odds-and-ends post. 

I like the new rash of General Mills cereals that's come out: peanut butter Cheerios, but I haven't tried the frosted Cinnamon Toast Crunch- although I picked up a box today.  The Cheerios could use some chocolate cheerios mixed in, I suppose.  I have yet to try the Krave stuff. 

Book-wise.... I finally got into The Hunger Games.  I can barely put the first one down, and I'm almost done with that.  Got the second one, "Catching Fire" all set to go.  I'm really looking forward to the movie. 

I've started on Pinterest, and I sort of like tumblr.  Pinterest is fun.

And we all know what DVD's coming out on the 11th. :) 

Trailers and Tacos and Movies, Oh My

This evening, we Twihards finally got what we'd been waiting for.

The official Breaking Dawn trailer.

Man, did they deliver.  It was pretty stinkin' cool.  Thank you, Bill Condon.

http://www.breakingdawn-themovie.com/

I'm even more excited now to see it.

Tonight was a late taco night.  Mom and I had crunchy tacos; they were good.  Hadn't had them for a while.  By the way, Walmart, kudos to the Marketside Guacamole in the produce section.  It's really good.

I picked up "X-Men: First Class." I'm not quite done with it.  I was a little worried as to how it would go, considering none of the original cast (Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, et al) is in it, but it's good.  I like it.

I'm kind of tired, considering it's close to one in the morning. Signing off.