Sugarplums!

Tomorrow I plan to post some pictures of CC's lastest ventures in Christmas cookie baking. He and CH were busy at it for nearly 8 hours on Sunday.

Last night I made sugarplums - for real! They aren't terribly difficult - the ingredients are dried plums, dried grapes, slivered almonds, a bit of brandy, and superfine sugar for rolling.

I rolled them twice for good measure - and also to get them rounder. After 50 or so, my hands were very very sticky, keeping them from forming good balls.


The taste is quite nice - like a larger, more complex raisin. The brandy isn't overpowering.

So far, they're a hit at work!

Cranberry Port Conserve

I'm a bit bummed today because my favorite character on The Wire met his end last night. It wasn't unexpected - the entire season has been about him and things haven't been getting better for him. Good night sweet prince.

I MADE JELLY!!!
Actually, it's Cranberry Port Conserve.
Brief rundown: Jelly is strained before canning, so it's clear; Jam isn't clear; Marmalade has a citrus base (not necessarily oranges); and Conserves have nuts.

It was fairly nervewracking - making the conserve and heating the jars at the same time. I ended up overcooking the mixture - which will likely result in a very very firm conserve. In fact, it will probably be best warmed and either used as a glaze or side sauce.

But nothing blew up. The seals worked. I've got shelf-stable preserves - fuck yah!


Please pass the Palaner All Fruit. Does anyone else remember that commercial?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK_n4tyVarI

Frozen Hair

My hair froze this morning while I was waiting for the bus. Reminded me of last period gym class - which I hated. But the hair freezing was always cool.

Reminds me of the scene from The Great Race (starring Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, and Jack Lemmon as the evil "Professor Fate"!). A race from New York to Paris, and while their respective cars are floating around on a piece of glacier, it's so cold that part of Professor Fate's prominent mustache breaks off.

Anyhoo...

Here are a few pictures of the decorated house! Last night was supposed to be post-decorating cleanup - but we were too tired. I'll add it to this weekend's list - otherwise, the boxes will just end up getting thrown into the back room until it's finally time to pack things up again.

If I'm not exhausted, tonight I'm going to make jam! Cross-fingers. Details tomorrow...

Gettin' Bettah

Tailbone feels markedly better today - huge relief. It still hurts all the time, but sometimes getting out of chairs doesn't make me cringe.

A budget aside - I noticed on the bank account that a certain bookseller had renewed my club membership for $25. Rather irritating since I didn't sign anything authorizing automatic renewal. Only a 5 minute phone call to have them cancel and refund, but I'm a bit fumey. Those little charges, little breaks in your day to fix them, etc. - it all adds up to lost money and lost time.

Here's the big news...
In January, CC and I are going to have a vegan, whole-foods detox! For real!

The plan (at this point) is:
Vegan the entire month.
Weeks one and two: only meals from whole, organic foods. Homemade bread, no pasta (unless homemade), tofu's ok, Boca things aren't. No booze, no carbonated beverages or caffeine (that'll be hard for CC).
Weeks three and four: still vegan, but we can have margerine, soy cheese, carbonated drinks. Booze TBD (maybe organic wine and spirits).

I'm really excited. Going caffeine-free has made me feel oddly healthy (in that, who knows if this is a placebo effect or something real way) - and I'm excited to see how it feels to be really pure in our consumption. Additionally, CC's been wanting for months to get serious about dieting. And with my arthritis and creeping high blood pressure, losing weight will have huge health benefits.

Props to our dear friend CR for being such a wonderful beacon for vegan living. If we hadn't had much practice with vegan cooking, or access to several of her cookbooks, this would be so much more daunting.

Tailbone Woes

Thanksgiving was wonderful.

Thursday's food was delicious. Things seemed much less stressful this year (even accounting for the fact that the Trio was hosting) - I credit the pressure cooker. I made two cheesecakes for Friday (lemon and pumpkin). These are the before and after pictures.

Friday was fairly relaxing too. We slept in. Went shopping, briefly. Made more macarroni and cheese (even better than the fancier 4-cheese version we made on Thursday), more roasted brussel sprouts, and turkey. The chef at Eli's asked us several weeks ago if we needed a bird - he had to order 10 from his supplier - so we got a fresh, organic, free-range, local bird for a very reasonable price. To be clear, I still don't consider myself a huge fan of turkey - but it was really good.

Saturday was the big night out that I've promised my brother for so long. We all had a bit too much fun. I slipped and fell - screwed up my tailbone - so I'm still in a fair amount of pain.

That's enough for now. I'm in the process of finalizing the December menu - and most of January's too! More on that tomorrow.