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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Orange Peel Bread

Yum. Here's the deal. I got a bunch of oranges to make marmalade, but then lost momentum cause I have a bunch in the pantry already. Plus all that white sugar isn't so hot for you. So I went looking for other uses. Somewhere I once read a recipe for chocolate cake where a whole orange is blended up as part of the batter. And getting familiar with marmalade and candied citrus peel I knew that citrus is worth more to us than just as fleshy fruit and/or juice. Plus, the whole Tartine zucchini marmalade bread phase I went through last summer. I ended up using it in a quick bread, tried it both with blended peels and chunky as-is peels, both were good. I based my recipe on this, which cites an old Fanny Farmer recipe, used it for proportions, didn't follow it too closely [Honey + peels instead of white sugar marmalade is way healthier, plus whole wheat for white, and buttermilk/b. soda in stead of milk/b. powder]. Essentially the fermented peels become soft and you are using them as you would bananas or applesauce or whatever to provide moisture and a little bulk, and flavor, of course, to a baked good.

Orange Peel Bread
inspired by the Fannie Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham

2c orange peels prepared as if you were going to make marmalade
2c buttermilk
1/2 c or so honey
1/2 c or so raisins
1T oil
1 egg (optional)
pinch salt
4c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
bunch of sesame seeds

Slice up a whole bunch of orange peels and cover with water. Let them ferment for a day or so. Heat to a simmer. Let them sit for a day. Heat. You can keep doing this for a week, no problem, until you have time to make marmalade and/or bread.

375 oven
Either use the peels as they are, or stickblended, or a mixture of the two, it all works.
Add the rest of the wet ingredients. The egg doesn't matter, the last few times I made it we were out of eggs, it still works fine.
The baking soda reacts pretty vigorously with the buttermilk, so once it is mixed in get it in the oven quick.
I've been making this in a 9x13 pyrex with sesame seeds coating the bottom so it doesn't stick. I like that technique alot. Rolled oats work well, too.
about 40 min does the trick.

Snow in the Front Range 2013


Pizza Night

When I was home in Newport this summer my folks had procured a stand mixer and I tried it out. It was a kitchenaid and I wasn't that impressed, but it got the juices flowing. I used to make pizza and bread all the time but got out of the habit. I ended up getting a Bosch compact mixer, their smaller, euro one. Got it off of ebay so saved a bit, too.
Red sauce, olives, sun dried tomatoes, feta, cheddar (in focus above); leek, onion, garlic, anchovy, cheddar (in focus below)

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Southern Big Sur Overnighter

We went up willow creek road a bit. Did some of the willow creek trail and in the process found some chanterelles! My first wild mushroom find. They were good last night alongside a Hearst Ranch beef burger. Found a sweet campsite for the future, camped down at the bottom of the road to watch the epic sunset. Next day we stopped off to check out the elephant seals near San Simeon. Had lunch at Sebastian's Store, a Hearst Ranch beef burger from cows eating grass right there. Divine. Also got 3 lbs of ground beef for a very reasonable price. Beer at the micro micro brewery in Cambria is good, too! I took my D200 (with a 300mm lens) and D600 (switched between the 24-85 kit lens and the 16mm). LOTS of pics at the links, here are a couple of highlights:










Ninjas / NPR

as a side note, when I lived in Kommetjie way back when, the house of one of my classmates was used for filming the 80s classic American Ninja 2. The fights on the beach were also near his house. Motorcycle chase was on the highway on the west side of the Cape Peninsula.It's already a classic 80s camp movie, but the South Africa connection puts it over the top for me.

Kris Kristofferson / NPR

good interview

Butternut Shrimp Curry

This is more or less from Nigella Lawson in Nigella Bites. It was amazing the first night. Leftovers were awful (the squash got super mushy). Though upon fishing out the remaining shrimp and stick blending it, it was GREAT as a pureed soup.

Butternut Shrimp Curry
1 can coconut milk
1T green curry paste (it's what we had)
1.5 c fish stock
3T fish sauce
3 lb butternut squash (approximate, we had a big one)
1.5 lbs wild US shrimp
1 bunch beet greens
few sprigs cilantro

typical curry method, skim off the coconut fat from the can and put that in the pan. fry the paste in that for 5 min or so. then add the coconut liquid and the fish stock. boil down a bit.
add fish sauce, squash, cook ~15 min
add chopped beat greens, cook ~5 min
add shrimp, cook 3 min
serve on red thai rice with cilantro



Monday, February 4, 2013

16 mm Nikkor

my new 16mm fisheye. fun lens

love this one, some/most of my cookbooks
crazy sunset, but i was a little late
living room art

Random dinners

cabbage is so photogenic
heart shaped homemade ricotta
pasta/red sauce, pesto, ricotta on the side

let them eat quiche, Sara made this
quick little ground beef tacos

classic NPR x2

cyclocross, and gnomes in Oakland

Friday, February 1, 2013

Figueroa Mountain Catway

Finally brought a bike with me to Figueroa Mountain. Sara walked it. Went a ways out on the catway, though a better bike would have helped....

snow in the road on the North slopes


Grass mountain from a different angle

Dwarf Meyer Lemon

we got this guy instead of a cut christmas tree, it has a ton of flowers on it, so we've since put it outside, could be the best purchase ever!

Wine and Cheese



Holidays 2012

Both sets of parents visited us over the holidays in sunny Santa Barbara. Good times. Full album is here.
 new D600, new 16mm nikkor fisheye (though I had to send it back to have them fix the lens shade that was intruding into the image). pointsettia, live lemon tree as christmas tree.
with my folks we drove up figueroa mountain and then around the santa ynez valley, this pic is of Grass Mountain
rescue cat at Rancho Olivos
 good colors (x2)

with Sara's folks we went in back of Ojai


apple pie
Sara and her pop