Of course...

Since we were gone all day yesterday, and forgot to tell Scratches where we were going...
It's kind of Patches to try to "bury" it for him, but we saw right through that. Oh, well...what would an otherwise perfect day be without a few cat turds on the bath mat?

We Love These Guys.

Happy Labor Day!

Today Matt and the cats stayed in and slaved over house and home, while I went to work from 11 in the morning until 7pm. It's a nice shift because it doesn't throw off my sleep schedule in either direction, and I still get home and have a little evening left. Work went really well, and I came home to a spotless house and one of the best dinners I've ever had--Matt had made tamales, which are always a favorite, and this time, in addition to sour cream and homemade salsa, we had leftover pibil which he had the brilliance to grace them with. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. What a husband! And then, what better to chase away the burn of a few too many tamales with spicy pork, than a dish of semifreddo? Nothing that we could think of, so that's what we had. The semifreddo ended up with more the consistency of a permanent milkshake, which I'm not sure is what's intended, but we aren't complaining. We feel like one could almost decrease the honey from 3/4 of a cup to a 1/2; the flavor isn't overwhelming, but it's certainly a very, very rich presence, especially in the presence of all that butterfat. Yum. Life is so good, even if I did temporarily forget that this morning in my despair over the fact that the (eczema/dermatitis/staph--it depends on who you ask) under my nose hasn't gotten any better... but. You can only ask for so much in life.

From Tom Philpott at Grist, an excellent source of environmental news, commentary--and, occasionally, recipes.

Honey semifreddo
3/4 cup raw local honey
3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
2 cups chilled heavy cream
A pinch of sea salt

With a whisk or electric mixer in a small bowl, beat the honey and yolks until thick and pale. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. In a large chilled metal bowl, whip chilled cream and a pinch of salt until cream holds soft peaks. Gently, carefully fold in the egg yolk-honey mixture until fully incorporated. Gently and carefully fold in the egg whites until fully incorporated. Transfer to freezing container and freeze for at least four hours.

Yields about a quart and a half of semifreddo.

Note: To adapt this recipe to other flavor schemes, replace the honey with about 3/4 cup raw organic sugar, whipping it into the egg yolks. Fold in other flavorings at the end: ground nuts such as pistachios, cooled, melted chocolate, loosened with cream, fruit purees, etc.

And last but not least, here's Patches helping Matt practice the horn.

Lazy Sunday

Matt and I have been trying to take it easy this weekend to give ourselves the mental space we need to make our respective decisions. We've spent a lot of time just walking the neighborhoods, enjoying getting to know DC, as well as exploring whether or not it would be an option for us to move if this landlord situation dictates it. In what is perhaps a joint moment of temporary insanity, we've even considered whether we might at some point be in a position to buy a place here. We certainly aren't pulling any triggers yet, but it's something to think about.

Otherwise, predictably enough, we went to the farmer's market yesterday and have been more or less cooking ever since. I did a huge stack of baking--whole-wheat bread, zucchini bread and muffins, banana bread, a batch of waffles for freezing--and yesterday we made what I would modestly consider to be one of our best pizzas ever: our classic homemade tomato/homemade pesto mix for sauce, one of Matt's crusts, and spinach, tomatoes, and cheese. YUM.

Then tonight we tried a pair of recipes from The Mexican Cookbook (too bad Amazon doesn't have an image because it is AMAZING), which was a very thoughtful and appropriate wedding gift from the lovely Holly. Here they are, without further ado (but with my comments, additions, and deletions in parentheses):

Vegetable Tostadas
Ingredients:
4 soft corn tortillas
3-4 T virgin olive oil
2 potatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded/diced
1 tsp mild chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3-4 ripe tomatoes diced (now, we found 1-1/2 to be almost too much, so you be the judge)
3 oz green beans, blanched and cut to bite size lengths (we actually substituted a cup of frozen corn)
2-1/3 cups black beans (we used 1 can)
8 oz feta cheese (we didn't have any so we used mozzarella)
3-4 romaine lettuce leaves
3-4 scallions, thinly sliced (we didn't have any of these either so just omitted them)

1. Pan-fry tortillas in a small amount of oil in a nonstick pan until crisp. Set aside.
2. Het remaining oil in the skillet. Add the potatoes and carrot and cook for 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic, bell pepper, chili powder, paprika, and cumin. Cook for 2-3 min or until bell peppers are soft.
3. Add tomatoes, green beans (or corn), and oregano. Cook for 8-10 min or until vegetables are tender. Add a little water if needed to keep it moist.
4. Warm black beans in a pan with a little water and reheat tostadas (if necessary) under the broiler.
5. Spread the beans
on the tostadas, then sprinkle with cheese and top with the vegetables. Sprinkle with lettuce and scallions and serve.

And we, of course, added sour cream as a garnish.

Part II was a recipe I think even a brother could love: Potatoes with Chipotle Cream, which is below:

2 lb 12 oz baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (we used red potatoes, skins on)
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock (I would recommend leaving this out)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Few shakes of bottled chipotle salsa (we used a chipotle paste that Matt makes which we happened to have on hand in the fridge)
8 oz goat cheese, sliced (we didn't have this, used mozzarella)
6 oz mozzarella or cheddar (we used cheddar and didn't measure it, just a handful)
1 3/4 oz Parmesan or Romano, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put potatoes in a pot with water, sugar, and salt; bring to a boil. Let boil for 10 min or until they are half-cooked.
2. Combine the sour cream with the stock garlic, and the chipotle salsa in a bowl.
3. Arrange half the potatoes in a casserole dish. Pour half the sour cream sauce over it and cover with the goat cheese (or whatever you're using). Top with remaining potatoes and sauce.
4. Sprinkle with grated mozzarella or cheddar, then with Parmesan.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and the cheese is golden and crisp. Serve immediately.

This was incredible and we would definitely make it again! The pairing was also something we were very happy with (something vegetable-based and kind of light in the first case, nicely balanced with cheesy creamy potatoes), and the ease and flexibility of the first dish have inspired us to want to try something similar with cooking simple batches of vegetables and spices with an Indian flavor, Chinese, Thai, etc... How exciting!

It's a good thing we find that sort of thing exciting, because we've decided to kick off this year as the Year of No Television. We don't have room for our old one, fixed or not, and we just can't see dropping the money on a new one. When we think about ourselves and our priorities and goals, an expensive television just doesn't fit in there right now. We also think it will be a great impetus to get out and see and do all that there is in DC, instead of resorting to flopping down on the couch. If we really want to see a movie, we can always go see a movie, but otherwise there are so many places to go and things to do here--so many of them free, luckily!--and we've decided that for our first year, we want to soak up as many of those experiences as we can. This seems like a good nudge in the right direction.

As far as goals and priorities we do deem worth spending our money on, we're strongly considering attending the Farm Aid concert in New York on September 9th. We were originally thinking about catching the Counting Crows (with Live and Collective Soul!) in Baltimore in August, but were dismayed when ticket prices doubled before we could decide whether or not to go. The Farm Aid show, besides being cheaper while raising money for local farmers and doubling as a giant organic foodfest/excuse to go to New York City for a day, also includes John Mellencamp, the Allman Brothers, Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, and Neil Young, among others, and seems like it could be right up our alley. Now we'll just have to see if we can find a way to afford it.

To wrap it up, in a nod to the SNL-inspired title of this post, I thought I'd link you below to a video that Matt and I have been enjoying all day. It's resulted in frequent (and often irrelevant) outbursts of the phrase "NO! I will leave you IN!"

Frustration? Cure-SALSA!

Well yall, Katie and I are rolling with the punches associated with living in an area that is very different from living in the Midwest but we are dealing as well as we can. Most of the frustration is caused by stupid people-it just seems like the stupid people out here are more widespread and speak a different language of stupid than they do where we are from. But, that is what you get for striking out and doing something daring. Anyway, here is a salsa recipe that Katie and I enjoy. Now, if you want a good ole' mild, cooked salsa that is something like Pace makes-GO BUY PACE! This is much more traditional. You get a good, spicy flavor and can taste both the independent ingredients as well as the conglomerate. So here are the ingredients:

28 oz fresh tomatoes (or a can of tomatoes)
4 cloves garlic (usually like a little extra but Katie reminds me of balance)
2 jalapeño chilies (I will get to these in a bit)
1/2 a larger onion
1/2 a normal sized bunch of cilantro (be sure to wash it-this stuff can be sandy)
1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar (white also works)
1T lime juice
1t salt
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t ground allspice
1/4 t ground cinnamon

So, all you do is put the stuff in a blender in this order:
garlic
chilies
onions-chop up small before putting in blender
spices
vinegar
lime juice
cilantro
tomatoes

Blend the stuff until it all spins for a few seconds, then let it sit. Make sure there are no chunks of stuff like cilantro, onions and garlic (those little bastards have a way of not blending). I have never tried a food processor but I would use it with caution because it may chop all the ingredients too small. Now, about the chilies. Sometimes you get jalapeños that are very spicy, and sometimes they are so weak that you can eat the salsa like gazpacho. So, be flexible about them. As a rule of thumb, remove the seeds and white veins from the center of one of them. That is if you cant take the heat. I prefer leaving all the seeds in and upping my heat tolerance but as many of you know, I am into self punishment. Also, if you have rubber gloves, wear them when you deal with the chilies. The spicy oil from them will remain on your hands for hours afterwards. If you don't wear gloves, you won't want to stick your fingers in your eyes or touch your junk (or anyone else's junk for that matter) for many hours after you handle the chilies. You or someone close to you will regret it!

Let me know what you think-leave comments please!

Here is a crappy picture of me without my apron on making the salsa:












One last thing-I caught the cats together in a special moment. Apparently Scratches tucked in Patches for a nap and gave her a kiss goodnight. One part of my rarely seen softer side is my newfound enjoyment of cat photography.









Thanks all for the time.

Today was a busy, stressful day...we kicked it off with a visit to the vet's office to catch Patches and Scratches up on their vaccinations. This is something I'm not always right on top of since they're strictly indoor cats who only have contact with each other, and thus I feel like the chances of a vaccine reaction are probably statistically more likely (especially after having a full set of vaccinations when they were kittens, which some say is wholly sufficient) than the chance that they'll contract a major illness. However, I worried that our landlords or the city of Washington might be strict about such things, and so we relented and took them in. Scratches, our lovely, sensitive, 5-year-old gray cat, ended up having a vaccine reaction and had to stay at the vet's office on Benadryl and steroids all afternoon. We were heartbroken at the thought of losing him, but his full recovery has reminded us of all that we really do have to be thankful for in the midst of what seems like a stressful time.

In lighter news, my sister came over for dinner tonight. The Wedge was one of the last stops on our must-eat-before-leaving list (also including the amazing Thai Spice, India Cafe, the Atlas, and more), and then we topped it off with a little back-to-school shopping. I think a good time was had by all, and it helped ease my anxiety about the transition to a life in which my clothing is not mandated, provided and laundered for me by my employer; not all the same color and style; not fully reversible; and when it's not considered acceptable to wear the exact same thing every single day. It's going to be a real bummer...but life is full of compromises, I guess.

Otherwise, we spent a lot of time packing and consolidating boxes so that my mom and brother can come help us load our truck tomorrow before the Katie Party, which I'm doing my best not to accept as the last time I see my co-workers but which may, in fact, be the last time (for awhile, at least) that I will see the artists formerly known as my co-workers.