Failure: Roasted Green Tomatoes

This soup was an utter failure. 

I roasted a bunch of green tomatoes, thinking I could salvage them from the fall garden. I'd make roasted green tomato soup like this one from Fresh Bites Daily and maybe a salsa verde sauce. In went the roasted green tomatoes and poblanos and garlic. Added some cream. Cooked and pureed and made a general mess of the place. Here's what it looked like with some basil:

Not too shabby looking and...it tasted like crap. Bitter and vaguely metallic, maybe even a tad caustic. That's when I found this post from Jolene George of The Oregonian. Check it out for some guidelines about using them before you launch Operation: Strip Garden Bare like I did. 

One of the main things about roasting these buggers is don't use the small ones. And what had I used? In my strange zeal to extract as much as possible out of our garden, oh yes, I'd used the small ones.

Now it lives in our compost bucket, we know better, and we had a frozen pizza and brownies for dinner.

And it's good for me to be reminded that failures are things we can learn and grow from. 

Chipmunk Love?

It's kinda like "Muskrat Love" without the unseemly overtones. (That scene from Arrested Development still makes me laugh my patootie off.

In all seriousness, it was an eventful morning. I attended the initial meeting for getting food stamps (Quest/FoodShare...call it what you want...food stamps is easier to remember) and job training. After I got back, I puttered in my balcony garden. I was just wrapping up to come inside, hit the potty, and eat something when Barty chased a trapped chipmunk into my tiny kitchen. After trying to coax the poor dear into a tea box from the recycling bag nearby to get it back outside (and not getting bitten in the bargain), I locked B. in the bathroom (nearest spot w/ a closing door...thanks, open floor plan! ;)) and scurried back, only to discover that Miss Saffy had taken care of the situation. Pretty sure she broke its back in her jaws, but maybe it was only in shock. Dunno. I took it outside and deposited it in one of the protected flower beds. Oof. That's enough excitement of that particular nature of excitement for today.

Going to plant some more stuff that chipmunks—and mosquitoes, and other critters—don't like to try to avoid another episode.

Real Kitchens

I was going to take a photo of my maddeningly cluttered kitchen counter top for this snapshot/post, but I gave up. This speaks to a larger issue in my life. I've tired of putting things away (laundry, dishes) and documenting every bloody thing with images, videos, and text (that is, blogging, as we know it). Those activities, in and of themselves, are not cumbersome or annoying or time-consuming; when it comes to messing around with putting away schtuff or taking time to find the perfect filter or light for an image, you've lost me. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but words are, and always have been, powerful. I'm going back to getting words on the page. Period.

Close your eyes. Imagine what a real (amateur/"self-taught") cook's kitchen, with very limited counter space, looks like. You're there.

Lake Trout in the Desert: Steenbock's on Orchard

Steenbock's on Orchard, one of Food Fight's Lilliputian (not so much) empire, is okay. Just okay. It's a nice, if a bit sterile (all see-through glass/plastic panels), dining environment, but T. and I were greatly disappointed with our food.

Plus, I'm still not thrilled about Food Fight's refusal to forfeit its Wisconsin Restaurant Association membership during the protests, even though the WRA contributed to the Walker administration. To employ a very bad pun, it put a bad taste in my mouth.

To the food! I had the lake trout piccata. Lake trout, itself, is already a very oily fish (and packed with omega-3s like DHA and EPA!), so I'm not sure why you'd go the piccata route. Une petite leçon about piccata: The word piccata is the Italian feminine version of piccato, which means "larded." That's right, larded. So it’s food that’s been sliced and sautéed and then served with a sauce of lemon, butter, and spices.

Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money

This is an oldie that was clamoring to be released from the drafts folder so it could be a real post (like Pinocchio wanted to be a real boy!).

Today's brekkie choice: Coconut Bliss' Mocha Maca Crunch with fresh blueberries. It's soothing the sore throat that persists despite my best efforts to heal it. 

In a moment, I'll head out for my neck adjustment with the extraordinary Ann Metzler of Zelm Chiropractic in McFarland. Being rear-ended two weeks ago did a number on my neck, so I'm trying to re-align it. If you need or want a chiropractor, I highly recommend Ms. Ann. She works at Zelm Chiropractic and is always up on new research and alternative methods of healing. They have offices in McFarland and Stoughton.

Queen Pee

My official title these days is the Queen of Cat Pee Clean-up. Saffron's on a pee spree. My arsenal in this human-feline battle is Nature's Miracle Advanced formula enzymatic cleaner. It works on floors, furniture, bedding, and in laundry. I've done so much of the latter recently that I'm considering attaching laundress to my list of personal skills. If only I could make money from cat pee. I'd be extraordinarily wealthy. Mine also came with a tiny black light to detect the elusive spots.

To repel kittehs from urinating on stuff, citrus is also supposed to help. A few other things to try:

• check with your vet if there's a health issue causing urination outside of the box
• completely clean and replenish the litterboxes
• make sure the kit kats like the litter you're using
• try different kinds of litterboxes (e.g., covered, uncovered, large, small)
• experiment w/ alternate locations (Sometimes cats feel trapped or want them in two separate rooms. I simply moved my two litterboxes apart in the same room, and that seemed to do the trick.)

Sinful Chicken Skin

KBC

Chicken skin bao

Sue Collins

Elise and I tried Sujeo, one of Tory Miller's new offerings. The name signifies the traditional Korean placement of the chopsticks and spoon, but the menu isn't exclusively Korean. It bills itself as pan-Asian.

We indulged in not just the chicken skin bao (buns), but also the KBC (Korean Broasted Chicken). Yes, we are gluttons. I had the Sue Collins with vodka instead of gin because the Rica's palate abhors gin. The bao were heavenly, but really, how can you go wrong with chicken skin? Add some marinated cucumbers, Kewpie mayonnaise*, and sweet chili sauce, and resistance is futile. While I usually find boa too doughy and undercooked, these were somehow lighter. The KBC was delicious, and the kimchi cucumbers were crisp and refreshing.

*Smoother and creamier than regular mayonnaise, Kewpie mayo replaces distilled vinegar the rice variety. First introduced to Japan in 1925, it's insanely popular there.

Mash-up

This is a mash-up from last year: Halloween, Thanksgiving, an autumn visit home, and a handful of other get-togethers. (I forgot to post it when it was originally written.)

Max Fischer from Rushmore and Maggie the Cat from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

At home over Thanksgiving

Lombardino's with Laura

I'm still playing catch-up from fall. These pics are from a dinner at Lombardino's with Ms. L. For my taste, the tricolore salad would've been better without the bleu cheese, but that makes sense because it's not my favorite. It was grand, however, to have more exotic greens: radicchio, frisée, and escarole.

tricolore salad

Autumn Visit Home

In the fall, I visited home, and we went to a hoedown at one of the local apple orchards. We also hiked at Perrot State Park and got hopelessly lost. (They changed the route of our favorite, the Ridge Trail.)

Happy Birthday to Me!

at Lombardino's

For my birthday, I went out for Indian at the Taj with Crystal and Jason, had dinner at Lombardino's with Jim and Mike, and had a swanky deluxe pedicare at AniU Salon and Spa (thanks, Laura!). I completely indulged myself at the Taj, and ordered the orechiette with Fraboni's sausage and rapini, and I must say that the pedicure has been the longest lasting one I've ever had.

My pedicure

Laura's pedicure

The Garden's Last Gasp

Before I broke everything down, cleaned, and put the garden to bed for the winter, I wanted to share a few snippets of it with you.

Lavender

Rosemary and thyme

Chiles

The last of the Nyagous that escaped freezing

Same tomatoes transformed into a caprese salad

Curiosity Killed the Greek Cat?

I have a new feline companion, Saffron (named for the daughter in AbFab) or Chickpea or Ceci (Italian for chickpea). On a recent weekend morning, I heard a crash from the kitchen and watched Saffy bolt under my bed. Assured that she hadn't killed herself, I drifted back to sleep.

Milwaukee

Hue Vietnamese

I'd never had spring rolls with grilled pork sausage, so I was a little skeptical; the ones at Hue in Bayview were delicious, so I shall never doubt the wonder of sausage in a spring roll again.

Spring rolls with pork sausage

Go west, young (wo)man!

After a little bit of finagling and jogging, I made my connection in Detroit and landed in Phoenix in the afternoon, as planned. We relaxed a bit and then headed to Crudo for dinner with a few friends. Matt had been before, but for the rest of us, this was our maiden voyage.

Crudo means "raw" in Italian, although only one of us opted for something from the raw portion of the menu. (I figured we'd probably hit up one of Phoenix' marvelous sushi spots at some point in the trip.)

We started with the yummy smoked olives.

Smoked olives

Sona + Aaron over for din-din

Making peanut sauce in mini processor

I couldn't find the original recipe I used for this spicy Thai stir-fry, but here are a few similar ones from Bon Appetit and Food and Wine:

• http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/panang-tofu-curry

• http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/thai-style-tofu-and-vegetables

Broccoli + garlic

As usual, I omitted any sugars (e.g., brown sugar, honey, agave). I also used broccoli and carrots instead of the veggies outlined in the above recipes. I wish I could find the recipe for the peanut sauce. The one I used was made with roasted, salted peanuts instead of peanut butter like the one from Cookie and Kate below. (And if I had used the latter, I would've opted for crunchy.) I also used Sriracha sauce, but I could've thrown in some red pepper flakes.

Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup reduced sodium tamari
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey (or agave nectar, to taste)
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons water

The finished product

Spicy Cootie-patootie + Kickass Mold

I'm very proud of installing up this spice rack solo.

And this was a cute outfit.

And this is some kickass mold that I inadvertently grew on some artichokes in my fridge. I'm usually pretty good about avoiding disgusting stuff like this in the fridge, but it was in the far back. I overlooked it until it became impressive. It's actually kinda pretty in a way. ;)

Evensong Spa

Laura and I channeled our inner divas and went to the Evensong Spa in Green Lake a few weeks ago.

At breakfast

Sorry for the wretchedly dark photo. The sunny landscape wasn't doing us any photographic favors, but it, plus the bare trees and the snowy lake, made for a lovely view.

Labyrinth

This time, I didn't walk the labyrinth, but L. did. It seems a little cheesy, but it really is very soothing. And the bank of windows affords a lovely view of the surrounding landscape.

Snowshoeing in Cherokee Marsh

I finally bought a pair of snowshoes. B. was kind enough to help me strap myself in and then join me in an hour-long trek through Cherokee Marsh. It was a gorgeous, sunny day for it, and we definitely logged a workout. (When we were ready to turn around, we were both tired and ready for a snowmobile to pick us up, but we persevered and tromped back. There was a shortcut involved. ;)) My legs and bum hurt days later.

A cute close-up

Easy Veg Pizza

Phyllo dough has been living in my freezer for way too long, so after many defrostings and refreezings, it finally made its inaugural appearance. I found a simple recipe for veggie pizza using phyllo dough, so I thought I'd try my hand at it. The recipe I used as a guideline is from Good Housekeeping. (Don't judge me. ;)) Instead of pizza, tomatoes, red onion, mozzarella, and parmesan, I topped it with black beans, black olives, tuna, artichoke hearts, and parmesan. I also didn't cut it into rectangles, choosing instead to kept the full sheet intact.

Phyllo dough coated with olive oil

First you have to prepare the phyllo dough by stacking layers of it and oiling the layers in between. Most of the time, people use butter, but I picked the healthier olive oil. (Don't get me wrong. Mama loves her butter, but it's generally reserved for topping popcorn.) You need to bake the shell for about five minutes before adding the toppings, and I cooked the entire pizza for longer than the allotted 3-4 minutes.