yama!

On the way home from New Jersey and Deleware, we stopped at Fante's, where I purchased a Yama vacuum pot. It's a clean (thanks to a tight cotton filter), full coffee yet lacks the silt and oil of a press...

It's kinda like what drip coffee should taste like, but still not close to a press.On the other hand, it sure is fun to watch:

week's end...

A week (and then some) of canning comes to a close. Off to New Jersey and Delaware with Luke -- so canning, cooking and the like can be held at bay until Friday (at the earliest). Made a nougatine tart at work for the "demo" -- the small convection oven, as much as it is small, defies the "middle rack" logic and the almonds were carmalized (read burned, but everyone loved it). One coworker declared it her new favorite dessert. Who wouldn't? Almonds, apples sautéed in butter, a flaky crust... it's a whole lot of heaven.

& lasagne

Stephanie was here for a wedding, and Jonathan due to his new location. So...

While the tomatoes were brining, I made lasagne -- a white lasagne with delicata squash, carrots, mizuna and the standards (ricotta, paramsean, parsley).

Meanwhile, Jonathan documented the lasagne noodles on the rack. (Nothing special this time around, just eggs, semolina and salt...)

And then Stephanie and Jonathan prepped apples for the nougatine tart that was heavenly. Recipe courtesy of Tartine.

(I'm having a major internal debate: grad school or cooking school?)

green tomatoes

Last weekend I made tomato pickles as the CSA has tons ofgreen tomatoes that have been rotting before going red somehow. Jonathan and I picked 30 pounds or so of green tomatoes, from roma to green zebra... Washed them, cored and sliced them and layerd them with salt an onions. They brined overnight, and in the morning I simmered them with yellow and black mustard seeds, peppercorns and a few cloves for thirty minutes before canning them.

Julie and I had some last night. Sweet, tart and very mustardy. I need to try again with some hot peppers.

canning... and canning

I've been canning for three days now. Only turned one spoon red from beets (picked beets, actually. 14 pints to this moment). And there's tomatoes, canned ripe and pickled green. I need to learn to not do anything on my days off.

this is my second attempt at a blog. and that after sucessful and failed livejournaling.