What's A Cobbler?

From Scrambled: Black Raspberry Cobbler:

"Let's make a pie!" he said.

"Let's make a cobbler!" I countered.

"What's a cobbler?" he asked. The actual answer is that a cobbler is what I am capable of making since I cannot make pie crust (I KNOW. feel free to teach me) but I am pretty good with forgiving doughs that are intended to be rustic and ugly.

Cobbler is too complex for me. I'm a bigger fan of shortcake, where I whip up biscuits and put fruit on top of them and garnish it with mint leaves (did I tell you I'm growing mint? And I haven't killed it yet!) and call it a fancy dessert.

I just re-read that part where I said "whip up biscuits" and I think it's time to leave the south.

Via Scrambled: Black Raspberry Cobbler.

Fruit Slinger

Oh hi. Remember me? I used to blog here, see I wanted to do a food blog with insightful comments and magazine-perfect food photography. But then I kind of realized that I'm way better at reading that stuff than I am at writing it.

I just discovered Fruit Slinger which is a collection of gorgeous fruit photography (this may be an odd thing to love, but whoa, the textures and patterns, the perfect imperfections, always attract me), meditations on seasons and people, and recipes that I know I won't follow but will at least point me in a direction.

Chocolate Bean Coffee

I’m not a coffee purist. I know some people think that adding
hazelnut and caramel and amaretto and so forth dilutes the flavour of
the beans, and to those people, I say, hello? Do you not realize you
can drink coffeedrink desserts all day? You are SO missing out! Anyway,
the Chocolate Bean has a long list of specialty coffees or you can add
flavors to regular drinks.  In the interests of a fair review, of
course, I had to try a bunch of coffees, and the boring Americano is
nice too, but a cappuccino with hazelnut is definitely my favorite. The
prices are better than Starbucks, too.

The Chocolate Bean doesn’t have Caramel Apple Crack
but they do have my beloved pomegranate green tea, New York-texture
bagels (not bread with a hole in the middle), and smoothies. Did I
mention the gelato? Very Meg-friendly!

What do you think?

Via The Chocolate Bean on Simpson’s Paradox.

On Homemade Food

I read this over on Woulda Coulda Shoulda » Love is fundamental

Besides, EVERYONE knows that bread you bake yourself doesn’t have any calories. I’m sure I read that somewhere

Exactly what I say. Everything I cook from scratch has zero calories.

Caramel Apple Crack

Caramel Apple Crack at Starbucks.

I don’t know if the Starbucks in China has this, because I was too busy slurping up all the real-bean coffee and then getting the jitters. I don’t know what’s in it, either. I asked Stick and he thinks maybe it’s sunshine and rainbows and highly addictive chemicals.

Via Thanksgiving on Simpson's Paradox.

I Love Cadbury Eggs

“Hey, Stick, do you know what the day after tomorrow is?!?”

“The day after Ea—The day Cadbury eggs go on sale.”

“Oh. Guess you already knew then.”

“Meg, we’ve been dating for five years.”

Related: Last year’s post on Cadbury Eggs.

• Cadbury Egg! on April 14, 2008
• Abrupt Change Of Plans on July 3, 2008
• Eight on April 1, 2009
• Sabado Gigante on September 8, 2008
• Birthday Omelette on January 11, 2008

Via Simpson’s Paradox » No Surprises.

More On Mangosteens

We found mangosteens in the supermarket today! I recognized them from the Yihai market, but I really didn’t expect to find them in such close proximity to drive-thru hush puppies.

Via Mangosteen Disconnect on Simpson's Paradox.

Artichoke Recipe

Artichokes can be healthful and delicious, as long as this doesn't happen to you!

It’s been years since I ruined dinner badly enough to scrap it and order take out. Look, I’m not saying I’ve never had trouble boiling water, and there was that time in college when I set off Eric’s smoke detector, but my cooking mistakes are usually minor, food that’s a touch overdone or needs a bit more salt.  Not a disaster.

My recipe said that if you don’t have a steamer, you can boil artichokes, placed upright and arranged snugly in saucepan with a few inches of water. I think there was a typo, and what it meant was if you don’t have a steamer, don’t even think about boiling artichokes, placed upright and arranged snugly in saucepan with a few inches of water!

From All Artichoked Up on Simpson's Paradox.

Turkish Coffee

Have you tried Turkish coffee before? Turkish coffee is stronger and much more caffeinated that your average cup of java. The smell is stronger as well! If you like strong coffee, you will love the tiny cups of Turkish coffee at places like Unaabi Grill. If you don't love strong, strong coffee, then you'll probably only want a sip or two. It's usually served in smaller cups, like espresso, because this is some serious coffee.

Unaabi Grill

A review of the new Unaabi Grill on Kildaire Farm Road.

Stick got a Turkish coffee, and I tried a gingery green tea, both were awesome. Well, Stick’s coffee was awesome if you like drinking sludge that makes your hands shake, but that seems to be the standard of good Turkish coffee! I always like appetizers better than the main course (see also: metaphors that can be applied to my life) but the kebabs were good too.

Read more at Unaabi Grill.

Tandoori Tofu

I saw this over on Mango Power Girl: Tandoori Tofu Kebabs

Who says only meat eaters have fun barbecuing?! These Tandoori Tofu Kebabs are so flavorful and easy to make that even tandoori meat lovers will happily eat them!


I used:
1 block extra-firm tofu, drained and cubed
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon chana flour
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon freshly grated garlic
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon dhana-jeeru powder (a blend of ground cumin and coriander seeds)
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
salt to taste
rock salt and lemon to garnish

Trying this one now, because she's right, why SHOULD only carnivores get to have barbequed yum?

I'm using regular flour because I can't see buying a whole package of chickpea flour for a spoonful, and I'm also just adding cumin and coriander, instead of dhana-jeeru powder.

Unrelated: I think extra-firm tofu and tofu skins are delicious, and I also like super-soft tofu in smoothies. But everything in the middle is just weirdly squishy and not something I like.

Via Mango Power Girl: Tandoori Tofu Kebabs.

Lost Cakes

I love Lost. And cake. So a Lost cake is all kinds of awesome, even if no one invited me to the party.

I don't know if I could munch on a mini Hurley or Sayid, though.

Via Dispatches from the Island.

Poor Claudius Cookies

I saw this today on poor_claudius: Gingerbread Emperors!

Gingerbread Emperors!

I guess this is what happens when my friends and I bake Christmas cookies while watching "I, Claudius".



Top row: Augustus, Livia (with poisoned fig), grumpy Tiberius
Bottom row: Caligula (exposing himself), Claudius (with slightly damaged foot), and Nero.

Nero's awesome fiddle was made by [info]elanya out of a tiny snowman-shaped cookie.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Via poor_claudius: Gingerbread Emperors!

Avocado Shopping

We also ought to be banned from buying avocados, as I can never catch that minute between green, alligator-skinned rocks and smooshy mess, and I feel ridiculously wasteful every time I throw them away. We were better off in China, when we would carry our avocados and gouda back from Jenny Lou’s, and then wait, checking the avocados for that perfect sandwich ripeness each time before we went out for dumplings.

Via Simpson’s Paradox » Blog Archive » Victory Milk

Twitter Soup

Saw this on Beth Dunn's blog, small dots, and it's an awesome blend of budget cooking and tech geekery. Best line:

But in hard times, I can’t. I need to rely more on noodles and ramen, less on nori and rabe.

The whole thing's worth a read.

Via stone soup « small dots

Testing Jelly Without A Candy Thermometer

Elise.com has a simple way to see if the jelly's ready to jell using cold plates. Yay! Because I don't have a candy thermometer lying around.

Too runny to be ready	It's wrinkly, so it's ready

....Put several small plates into the freezer. As the jelly temperature exceeds 218°F, start testing it by placing a small amount of the hot jelly on a chilled plate. If the jelly spreads out and thins immediately, it isn't ready. If it holds its shape a bit, that's a good sign. Push up against it with your finger tip. If the jelly sample wrinkles at all, it is time to take the jelly off the heat and pour it out into jars.

Between this and my last post, you can probably guess what I'm making!

Via Seville Orange Marmalade Recipe | Simply Recipes

Canning Adventures

Just in case it's not clear what I'm cooking:

I was making cranberry relish yesterday when Stick came into the kitchen and looked hungrily at the jars I was filling.

“You can eat the one on the left, ’cause I screwed up the seal.” I told him, hoping to deter him from sticking a spoon in the boiling cranberry-orange goo.

“Great,” he said. “You make jam and save the botulism for me.”

Via Simpson’s Paradox » Blog Archive » Secret Ingredient

Blanch Three Times

 Jenyu.net has a recipe for candied orange peels which is awesome in itself AND solves my problem with marmalade and so forth, where the white part of citrus fruits makes everything bitter.

Some recipes tell you to remove the pith, but without the pith you are
left with not a lot of orange peel even though it may not technically
be part of the peel. I think the concern is that the pith makes the
peel bitter. You can remedy the bitterness by blanching the peels.



blanch the strips of peel three times

(I know what blanch means but this picture is pretty)

Via use real butter » Blog Archive » candied orange peels

Caramel Apple Crack

Not something I can cook, but something I really like: Starbucks' Apple Crack!

I don’t know if the Starbucks in China has this, because I was too busy slurping up all the real-bean coffee and then getting the jitters. I don’t know what’s in it, either. I asked Stick and he thinks maybe it’s sunshine and rainbows and highly addictive chemicals.

Note: This is not a paid advertisement, but if Starbucks would pay me I would totally advertise the Apple Crack. In fact, I’d even call it by its proper name.

Via Simpson’s Paradox » Blog Archive » Thanksgiving

Mario and Princess Peach

Another geeky gem from Cake Wrecks. What is it about the combination of sugar and gaming that makes these cakes so perfect?
Yes, it's a Mario wedding cake. (With a cake like this, I bet the bridesmaid dresses weren't too bad!) And here is the fondant duo that replaces the usual (LAME!) cake topper.

Go over to Cake Wrecks to see more amazing photos.