Now that the vast blocks of orange cheddar have run out, all of our dairy must be produced by hand. Luckily, some of the easiest recipes are the most satisfying: mozzarella, yogurt, queso blanco, etc.
TVP is a challenging raw ingredient, but at least it's malleable. My most successful meal last week was a Chinese dinner with fried rice, spicy stir fried noodles and sprouts, and sweet-and-sour 'meat' balls with pineapple bits. Not bad, if I may say so myself.
We have now have an oven! It's small, so baking large batches is impossible, but I made a perfectly edible apple pie yesterday, as well as pizza:
I've also figured out ice cream - fresh snow mixed with sweetened condensed milk works very well as a base, to which you can add all sorts of flavors.
Finally, and most excitingly, the Aerogardens are now producing wonderful lettuce. The lettuce is delicious, and when combined with sprouts and sundried tomatoes, makes a fantastic salad. We really should have half a dozen Aerogardens, because a group this size could eat a lot more lettuce than two can possibly produce, but even so, some salad is much better than none!
17 comments:
On the Hawaii food front, some excellent news today:
"KAHALA MALL is getting ready to welcome the long-awaited Whole Foods Market chain to Hawaii.
....
The new store is slated to go into the 26,000-square-foot space vacated by Star Market in March, although exact design details have yet to be revealed. It is expected to open early next year."
I just can't wait to go there and spend all the money I don't have!
Been meaning to ask.. I think one of the logos on your, um, home, is from the Discovery Channel. Are the antics of you and the crew going to be made into a documentary (docu-drama?) after the fact?
I'm telling you, the Mars Cookbook will be a big bestseller in the geek category. Up there with graphic novels.
Timmy - yeah!!! I'm very excited. I was just saying that the only sucky thing about Hawaii is the dearth of good cheese.
Gill - The Discovery Channel sponsored the FMARS station, and has visited it before. Discovery Canada will be visiting this summer, but I'm not sure what their plans are yet.
Sarah - I'm sold! Where should I send a proposal?
Kim, just checked out the web cam. Either you're flicking a bugger on to your co-habber surreptitiously or your finger tips look pretty fascinating.
I wish those cameras would catch you smiling and looking at them, with a fine glass of red wine in hand and some great cheese....
You can send the proposal to me, sweetest. I'll move it on to my agent. (and I'm SERIOUS about this - there are zillions of hungry D&D players who think you are the coolest chef ever.)
Sarah -
D&D? Is that something sexy/weird?
Jen
Dungeons and Dragons. The original swords-and-sorcery role-playing game. Very weird, very not sexy.
Good grief.
Off to Timmy and Chrissy's for dinner this evening - I'll write from there to comment on the menu!
Do you have lentils? I was going through my cooking magazines and there was a decent sounding lentil receipe.
Yep, got lentils galore. Hit me with that recipe!
Ahoy hoy.
Over at Timmy/Chrissy's right now and I just saw Saturn through your telescope. It was wicked cool.
Timmy made a fantabulous dinner, which I will detail right now, just to make you crazy:
1. Gazpacho
2. Poached tiger prawns on potato/goat cheese galette with shrimp/sake reduction
3. Grilled Ribeye with homemade bernaise and haricot verte
4, Fresh strawberries and thai watermelon.
Chrissy actually started the night off right with eggplant tapenade with grilled bread and bagel chips.
I brought a decent sauvignon blanc and an excellent malbec.
We missed you!
"Finally, and most excitingly, the Aerogardens are now producing wonderful lettuce."
Ok wow.
You're gonna LOVE the real world when you get back. It's great; we've all taken to buying our lettuce in stores, hardly anyone even USES an aerogarden these days.
I most recently had lentils on nachos. Revolting. I recovered, however, by hitting Leconfield Winery in McClaren Vale and "visiting" a sparkling Shiraz and an Old Vine Grenache.
Hey Kim, how do you titillate an ocelot?
......oscillate his tits a lot!
Jen, you are cruel. Very cruel.
Kristin, I'm sorry. I don't think I've served anything as bad as lentils on nachos, and I have an excuse.
Sarah, titillated ocelots aside, I thought you'd like to know that that five spice mix for tadka punch phoran you left with me is excellent sprinkled over bread dough before baking. That was one of yours, wasn't it?
It was! Am so pleased my spices made it so space given that I've spent the last 2 years researching the spice trade (which morphed into the caffeine and opium trade). It all just seems so fitting and yay. Pushing the boundaries of gustatory exploration. Colonizing through condiments.
(a little underslept and overenthusiastic here, in my mother's house)
Book is 2 weeks away from being out of my hands entirely and I am SLACKING. What I need is a trip to Hawaii to just push through the end. Instead it's a lot of traveling, a lot of picnics in Central Park and dates and things. Distractions.
I feel obligated to ensure that everyone understands that I did not serve lentils on nachos, I was served lentils on nachos. I would have preferred textured soy protein haggis.
Sara, one of my classmates almost went into a cardiac arrest over a 3000 word paper on tea. When I explained that I had a friend whose book was about to be publised, she almost wept. heehee
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