which seems grosser (or more gross... hahahaha.), using lard or shortening?
i mean both options seem sort of disgusting. just blobs of fat... lard coming from an animal, and shortening (i guess) coming from a vegetable? and don't even get me started on butter... isn't that just fat in the shape of a stick? for some reason the stick form seems more civilized.
i've been trying to avoid recipes with shortening lately because "they" say that it contains transfats* which are supposed to be the bad kind of fat. lately i've been wonder though if i should really be avoiding shortening. is it really as bad as "they" say. hmmmm...
*sidebar
i don't really know what transfat is. all i know is that "they" say that transfats are bad and avocado fat is good. i'm all for anything that says that eating avocados is good for you!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
library
there's just something about a library. the smell of the books, the muted hum of people shuffling through the pages... i guess those things will always conjure up happy childhood memories for me. i don't read nearly as much as i used to when i was young. back in the day i would spend WHOLE WEEKENDS holed up in my room, reading books addictively. i would check out a whole row of nancy drew or the shoes collection and would spend the whole weekend lost in a world that seemed infinitely more exciting than my own. nowadays it's pretty rare for me to sit down for more than a couple of moments to read a book. it's a sad state. i just finished reading a book about a week or so ago... when did i start it? hmmmm... let me think back... oh! maybe about a YEAR ago! hahaha...
nevertheless, libraries are still very cool and the seattle central library is no exception. a fairly new addition to the seattle public library system it a library of epic proportions. maybe the word 'epic' is a bit strong. but it's HUGE and very interesting. we were able to explore about 10 levels and there was one additional level that was closed off to the public. in addition to the normal levels for just BOOKS, there was a level for local artists, a cafe, a "living room", and a level that was just red (that's right, the walls, the floors, the ceilings! everything was red!). if i lived in seattle, i would probably spend a lot of time there. =)
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
castro a la seattle
so a couple of weeks ago the craft collective went on vacation. the last time that i went on a trip (that was not work related) was two years ago. TWO YEARS! how could that have happened? is it possible to have cabin fever in the bay area? if so i think i had it.
the trip was very nice and relaxing. definitely what the doctor ordered. one of the days we explored capitol hill(?) which is sort of like the castro area of san francisco. there were a lot of funky shops, outdoor cafes, and it had a nice relaxed atmosphere. another thing that makes this particular area of seattle stick in my head is that we came across a hello kitty fan! practical AND cute! what will they think of next?
the trip was very nice and relaxing. definitely what the doctor ordered. one of the days we explored capitol hill(?) which is sort of like the castro area of san francisco. there were a lot of funky shops, outdoor cafes, and it had a nice relaxed atmosphere. another thing that makes this particular area of seattle stick in my head is that we came across a hello kitty fan! practical AND cute! what will they think of next?
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
buttermilk?
when i came across orangette's recipe for nutmeg donut muffins i knew i had to try it. the ingredients had me in a tizzy though. two TABLESPOONS of buttermilk? what am i going to do with the rest of the carton?
sandia suggested that maybe i make ice cream. hmmmm... that sounds like an excellent idea! except, oh, darn! i am such a freezer packrat that there is no room in the freezer to freeze the base of the ice cream machine.
next suggestion?
pancakes! who doesn't love pancakes? (and you just be quiet if you don't!) so the combination of my carton of buttermilk (sans two tablespoons) and my discount grocery outlet purchase of whole wheat flour ($1!) have been combined together to form whole wheat cookbook's version of grain n' nut pancakes! just had some for breakfast. it's a fairly substantial pancake with a good wheaty taste and feel to it. yum!
any other suggestions? i have about a half a carton left...
sandia suggested that maybe i make ice cream. hmmmm... that sounds like an excellent idea! except, oh, darn! i am such a freezer packrat that there is no room in the freezer to freeze the base of the ice cream machine.
next suggestion?
pancakes! who doesn't love pancakes? (and you just be quiet if you don't!) so the combination of my carton of buttermilk (sans two tablespoons) and my discount grocery outlet purchase of whole wheat flour ($1!) have been combined together to form whole wheat cookbook's version of grain n' nut pancakes! just had some for breakfast. it's a fairly substantial pancake with a good wheaty taste and feel to it. yum!
any other suggestions? i have about a half a carton left...
Monday, July 17, 2006
brioche
things have been pretty hectic over at the craft collective. sandia is now in the middle of a crazy summer session, our trip to washington has come and gone, and i seem to have committed myself to more things than i can remember!
not to busy though to finally try my hand at using yeast!
for the longest time i've been wanting to try to make a yeast bread. the last time i attempted was more than five years ago. that day i had somehow gotten it into my head that making cinnamon rolls was a quick and easy task... about five hours later (and covered from head to toe in flour!) i emerged from the kitchen with a batch of cinnamon rolls. i think that prolonged experience might have made me shy away from trying a yeast recipe until now.
inspired by a new (and pink!) pan, the recipe on the back of the box for chocolate brioche, and armed with a costco sized bag of yeast (which is oddly the same price as a supermarket sized packet of yeast) i set to work.
it ended up being relatively easy but i did learn a couple of things along the way.
1. start earlier! i am NOT a night person by any stretch of the imagination. starting a sponge at 7 in the evening makes for a grumpy (and still baking) lf at 11:30 at night.
2. a warm spot is easier to come by during the day. not having any "warm places" in my apartment, i turned the oven on at it's lowest setting for the dough to rise. this turned out to be a mistake due to the minimum temperature on my oven being 170 degrees. the folding in of the chocolate chips ended up turning them into chocolate melts instead! oh well. at least they still tasted ok.
3. be more careful when portioning out dough. hahaha... through the magic of angles and digital photography i've made them APPEAR to be uniform but it is an illusion people! in a batch of twelve brioche, maybe two of them ended up being the same size. next time i'll have that worked out a little better.
they ended up tasting like brioche and i am now suddenly inspired to make more yeasty breads! crusty french bread here i come!
not to busy though to finally try my hand at using yeast!
for the longest time i've been wanting to try to make a yeast bread. the last time i attempted was more than five years ago. that day i had somehow gotten it into my head that making cinnamon rolls was a quick and easy task... about five hours later (and covered from head to toe in flour!) i emerged from the kitchen with a batch of cinnamon rolls. i think that prolonged experience might have made me shy away from trying a yeast recipe until now.
inspired by a new (and pink!) pan, the recipe on the back of the box for chocolate brioche, and armed with a costco sized bag of yeast (which is oddly the same price as a supermarket sized packet of yeast) i set to work.
it ended up being relatively easy but i did learn a couple of things along the way.
1. start earlier! i am NOT a night person by any stretch of the imagination. starting a sponge at 7 in the evening makes for a grumpy (and still baking) lf at 11:30 at night.
2. a warm spot is easier to come by during the day. not having any "warm places" in my apartment, i turned the oven on at it's lowest setting for the dough to rise. this turned out to be a mistake due to the minimum temperature on my oven being 170 degrees. the folding in of the chocolate chips ended up turning them into chocolate melts instead! oh well. at least they still tasted ok.
3. be more careful when portioning out dough. hahaha... through the magic of angles and digital photography i've made them APPEAR to be uniform but it is an illusion people! in a batch of twelve brioche, maybe two of them ended up being the same size. next time i'll have that worked out a little better.
they ended up tasting like brioche and i am now suddenly inspired to make more yeasty breads! crusty french bread here i come!