I loosely followed this recipe: Not Quite Nigella’s Bacon Jam

What I actually cooked was probably closer to this:

• 1 lb center cut bacon
• 1/4c maple syrup
• 1/4c cider vinegar
• 1 cup water (added in 1/4c increments)
• 2 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 whole brown onion, diced
• 1/2 grated nutmeg (half the nutmeg, grated)
• a couple spoonfulls of brown sugar
• a large dash of black pepper
• a couple large dashes of tapatio
• some amount of: cinnamon, a tiny bit of salt, ancho chili powder, chili powder

…so I apparently started writing this as a draft in March. Posting it now.

I should really blog more. :/

So now I’m doing waffle science. I must determine the following: a. best batter for waffles b. what else I can make in a waffle iron c. if it’s worth $200 d. if I really want a Belgian waffle iron versus a ‘normal‘ waffle iron.

To date, I’ve made the Belgian Waffle recipe that comes in the little WS booklet, and another — Waffles of Insane Greatness. The latter wins… by a lot, surprisingly.

Recipe!

Waffles of Insane Greatness
originally adapted from Aretha Frankensteins, then adapted from the link above

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup cornstarch — I had none, so I used 1/2 cup rice flour. How asian!
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups buttermilk
* 2/3 cup vegetable oil
* 2 eggs
* 3 teaspoons sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* Butter and syrup, for serving

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add the milk, vegetable oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes, if you have the time.

With my waffle maker, I cook them for 4 minutes at heat setting ’3.’

Yay waffles! They tasted great, crunchy on the outside, light and chewy on the inside. They also made great dog hats.

Dear human,

What do you have there? Can I eat it?

…How about now?

Moogle likes: Ice cubes, white rice, chili bits, chestnut paste, nori (unflavored) and most things.

Moogle dislikes: Arugula, basil, wine, beer, cognac

Menu:

Gazpacho and Salad (Tomatoes, Melon, Arugula, Lemon)

Summer Risotto (Farm Egg, Sugar Peas, Sherry Gastrique)

Truffle Foie Gras Noodles (Shaved Torchon, Bacon Nage, Truffle, Herb Salad)

Chanterelle Soup (Truffle Froth)

48 Hour Kobe Short Rub (Brentwood Corn Grits, Carrots, Artichokes, Buerre Rouge)

The Candy Bar (Chocolate Ganache, ShortBread, Salted Caramel, Almond Butter Powder, Vanilla Icecream)

Cake science!

Goal: Layer cake of red velvet and cheesecake. Not frosted together, but actually one cake.

Hypothesis: Bake red velvet layer, then dump cheesecake batter over it and rebake.

Results: Fail. Cheesecake is tasty, bottom cake layer tastes a little odd (I guess that’s what happens when you bake red velvet for 90 minutes!)

Follow up: Some theories — Partially bake red velvet, then add on the cheesecake layer. Layer the batters, see what happens.

I’m so excited that my tomatoes are finally ripening!

Also, here is a picture of the tasty fried chicken catfish poboy I had for lunch. Louisiana Territory stops near my office every couple weeks, but this is my first time and I’ll be going back.

1.5 cups grated beets
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 pinch cinnamon powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped toasted nuts (walnuts, cashews)

Beat eggs till frothy and add sugar. Beat well, till the batter is thick. Add oil and the extract. Then add the sifted flour+baking powder+salt+cinnamon powder. Mix till just incorporated. Fold in the grated beets and chopped nuts. Bake for 35 mins at 180 C.

…I mostly followed the recipe. I did a little less sugar, no nuts and added pinches of cinnamon, nutmeg & allspice. Think carrot cake, but with beets. For the frosting, I did a standard cream cheese frosting (creamcheese + lots of confectioner’s sugar) and added beet juice for coloring.

It tasted like any other root veggie-cake (carrot cake, parsnip cake etc). Next time I’m going to try using canned beets (much easier) or slow roasting them in the oven first (until they caramelize and develop that rich caramelized beet flavor). I will also try to take a picture before I’m so tired that everything is blurry.

The best part is that my ‘smoke’ detector didn’t let out a sound. But it regularly goes off after I shower. Apparently it’s a steam detector, not a smoke detector — how useful.

And more veggies/fruit from my garden — tomatoes (as always), strawberries, green beans and sage:

And more flowers from plants adopted from work –

I can’t figure out why the saturation seems to be so high. All the pictures with the petals in focus are eye-burningly fuchsia.

And, here… is Bender!

And here’s my failed attempt at latte art… It’s hard to do