It is delicious

To be awoken from a post breakfast nap by the gentle ringing of the bells on the paletta man's cart.

I'm on a vacation...of sorts. I'm crashing (with all of my belongings) with my darling friends Cait and Lisa before moving into a new apartment in two weeks...and I'm calling it a vacation. And for the fist time on months I felt like coming here and dropping you all a line.

And for the first time in weeks I feel like cooking. I want to stuff my face with a carrot and parsley salad that drips lemony oily dressing off my chin. I want to curl slivers of pecorino on a bed of arugula and drop a silky sheet of prosciutto on top. I wan to lie on a hammock and drink something sparkling and clear.

Yes.

Oh yes.

I'm on vacation. And it feels soooo delicious.

Addict.

Hello.

My name is A. Sandin and I am a sushi addict.

It started innocently enough, my first California roll in college. Move on to sashimi. Then Chirashi. Friends looking to go out for dinner and I suggest sushi 97% of the time. I live in a city and I can get it on nearly every corner.

The problem is that it can add up...money wise...what was once a little occasional treat somehow turns into the dudes at the Japanese restaurant down the street recognize you.

A problem.

Enter the solution:

Sushi Bowl

Alton Brown's sushi rice, crumpled up nori, chopped avocado, strips of smoked lox, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds to finish it.

Cooking the rice takes the longest time and the smoked salmon is the most expensive part (mine was just under $7 and I get 2.5 servings out of it). There are lots of variations if you look around online, it really just depends on what you can find in your grocery store and how nervous you are about eating things when you don't actually know what they are.

I might get bored and need to go searching for the better stuff eventually, but for now this definitely takes the edge off.

A Game of Adjustments

My Dad declares that baseball is a game of adjustments. Now he lumps life into that category as well and I for one agree with the good Dr.  

Work was all over the place with moving into our new space right before diving headlong into our busy season. Though I have to say spending an afternoon sanding or staining is a fantastic stress reliever!

I managed to get as prepared as possible for the post Thanksgiving rush before I headed home to Ohio for the holiday.

I love that silver grey Midwestern sky! And I tolerate the flatness until we hit the hills that mean I'm home. With quite a bit of snow too!

Dr K. played barkeep and made cocktails to kick off the holiday, which I was thankful for. Nothing like a few shots of gin to make you take a load off!

Meanwhile Miss Linda made one of our favorite holiday cookies, Grandma K's 'Russian Teacake' recipe which you may know as Mexican wedding cakes, Greek kourambiedes, or if you're Dr K Swedish nut balls.

I got off my ass to help roll them in powdered sugar, before heading back to the couch to watch Hallmark movies under the blankie.

But I did contribute for a breakfast...

....and D and I laid the table...

...and I suggested Miss Linda make Smitten's Green Bean Casserole.

I also gave the thumbs up to make this delicious slow cooked stew with fresh toppings for a lovely dinner party with dear friends.

I'm an invaluable help in the kitchen.

They'd be lost without me.

I did spend a lot of time talking Gear with Dr K.

And rocking out over new additions to our Twang/Okra Punk music collections.

Its always great to go home but I had a hard time fully relaxing knowing the chaos that awaited me once I got back to work. Don't get me wrong, it was freakishly organized and scheduled chaos and I totally kicked ass. But it was still all mine to handle so it had my total focus, pushing everything else to the back burner (that means you Mumbles).

I did make time to decorate for Christmas, bulbs, starts, trees, candles, and Dhalas. 

I have to buy candles to make up for the lack of smell, but I do love my wee tinsel tree.

It was nice to crash on my couch with a cup of cocoa to watch the snow fall in candlelight after busting ass all day. And now I can do it after not busing my ass all day! I survived (with gold star levels of awesome) my first Holidayz as Production Manager! Very few casualties and I didn't piss of Santa or any customers. Score!

I'm liking life going back to "normal", taking care of all the things I couldn't for about a month and since it's the New Year making choices about that habits to keep and which to drop for 2014. Like Dad said, life is full of adjustments. But I have to say all in all I'm very content with how things stand in my life, I just keep rollin'.

Golden Treasure Inside is Hid

I occasionally wonder if my obsession with cooking an egg to the perfect state of creamy golden-ness is normal. 

I mean my day isn't completely ruined when I crack open the shell to see it has cooked past nirvana to pale solid crumbly-ness...mostly. And don't even get me started about my day if the white were still runny. Just. Don't.

Every fall I want to have soft boiled eggs on toast for breakfast again but I haven't made any since the early spring and have completely forgotten the nuances of how to cook them perfectly. How long do I boil them for? Did I let them cook for ten minutes or less? Uuuuggh.  It happens every year and it bugs the shit out of me. Why soft boiled eggs?!? Why are you so tricksy? I love you so much! If only I could see the yolk cook so I can know exactly when they reach perfection!!

Oh wait. 

I can.

Crack it open and bake that fucker. Take that shell of mystery and chuck it in the trash. 

Turn your oven to 350 degrees. Butter a ramekin (or if you don't own such things a small oven safe cup or if worse comes to worse a trusty muffin tin) and crack an egg into it. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper and set in in the oven for 10-15 min (just enough time for a quick shower!). Leave the butter dish out to soften. At the ten minute mark toast your bread and peek at your baking eggs. You can give the pan a jiggle to see how the whites are setting and if your yolk is still liquid. Keep peeping and BOOM there it is. The white is solid, the yolk is deep gold and molten. Butter your toast and using a spoon scoop out half of the egg to spread on the bread. Sigh happily.

If you want to get pinkies up you can pour a little cream on top of your egg, just remember that when you jiggle check it the cream will still be liquid over the top so don't overcook your egg on accident! Paprika or parsley is also a nice addition as seen here, a fancier dinner version to accompany a book on French cooking.

And you should read that book on French cooking, but only if you've read Julia Child's My Life In France. Consider it the prequel to Ann Mah's Mastering the Art of French Eating.

Each chapter focuses on a traditional French dish and it's history while also bringing up a wide range of topics on life, love, food, and identity. I tore through it and hope you do too so we can discuss.

I've got a few more food books lined up to read and am taking suggestions. I whine all summer long about "how I'm not reading anything right now and it's horrible wah wah" when the truth is I want to do anything but read during the summer. I've got 5 months of shitty weather to read as many books as I want in, why would I waste the good weather?? duh.

But it's already Phase 2 of fall, my light jacket and scarf have been replaced with a heavier long coat and fuzzy scarf. Its time for books, and knitting, and soft boiled eggs. My Mumbles just turned 4 years old and the next post will be Thanksgiving. Time is flying and I'm just trying to keep up. See you next time! Go bake an egg.

Full Tilt

My walks home from work have changed from a time for quiet contemplation to thoughts racing through my brain at high speed. Typically accompanied by the appropriate high-octane-righteous-noise-more-guitar-is-good music I have a fondness for.

It feels like I just chugged a bottle of Pepsi and some Pixi Sticks.

There have been changes on the work front of my life, all for the best. I'm now at DEFY HQ full time  adding the new hat of production manager to my craftsman work. Which means for the first time since graduating college ages ago I use a computer for my job! And oh man have I missed making lists and putting things in piles and filing. It's sick really. I really shouldn't be paid for being borderline anal retentive. But I am. I will bring order to the chaos and it will be beautiful.

But it is a change and sometimes all I do is pick up a steak burrito and a Radler for dinner and lie on the floor for a while. A delicious reward for actually using my brain for 8 hrs. But I rally on the weekends and tend to cook up a storm. And create a massive amount of dishes I have the luxury of ignoring for as long as I please.

I've discovered a delightfully easy fancy dinner menu of Roast Root Veg with Balsamic Glaze on a bed of Arugula to start and Chicken Roasted with Lemon for the main. Throw some veggies in a hot oven to roast, make the glaze, then clean your house while the veg is roasting. And please don't be an dunce like me and be wary of the fumes coming off the vinegar while you're stirring the glaze! It could singe the hair out of your nostrils.

For the chicken preheat the oven, and in a dutch oven brown the thighs for about 10 minutes in oil on the stove. Then toss the lemon slices and red onion slivers over top, pop in the oven, and take a nap before your guest arrives. You can follow the recipe and reduce the leftover juice etc but I've found it to be just fine as is.

This banana bread was the dessert, and whoa man is it a dense loaf! It's really chocolate cake/bread masquerading as banana bread. Very tasty but I will tweak it a bit next time...and you need a glass of milk to wash it down. Or tea if you were watching Foyle's War like Miss Ashley and I were.

It's lovely to be able to entertain guests with a couch to sit on! I'm on the hunt for a small side table that can double as a dining table but no luck yet...and my friends are obliging with balancing their meals on their knees.

Plus it makes a great shelf for books and tea and charging phones.

I'm taking advantage of the farmer's market as much as possible before it goes. Roasted zucchini with sweet tomatoes over egg noodles. A pinch of lemon zest and cheese finishes it off nicely.

Beets,  greens, kale and quinoa salad with toasted pine nuts, basically this but lazier. And a leftover pumpkin pie slice for dessert. 'Tis the season! I already have two kinds of apple cider in my larder. Soon there will be applesauce and other spicy goodies. And socks! And scarves and crisp leaves and oh gosh I love it.

But really the most important thing you need to know about my life, my thoughts, and what I've been eating...it's these beauties. Banana pancakes. Two ingredients. One spatula and one fork. It's sheer genius and have revolutionized my weekend mornings.

Cut off a bit of butter and put it in a frying pan to melt over medium/low heat. Put a banana in a bowl, smash it and crack in two eggs. Whisk the eggs and banana together and pour half into the hot pan. They need to be well browned to turn since they are  prone to crumbling...but who cares really? While waiting for the other side to brown pull out your maple syrup and slice up some strawberries or whatever else you want to dump on them. Ooh Nutella would be divine! Totally doing that for tomorrow's bananacakes.

They're just the ticket for a special breakfast after a week of hard work. Add a cup of tea, good book or something British on Netflix and it's really all one can ask for before being back to full tilt on Monday!

Shadow and Light

I've taken to dozing on the couch these summer evenings. Things have finally slowed down and sprawling with limbs in all directions on a horizontal surface is glorious. The cicadas and birds (and construction workers) telling me things I can't comprehend though the window. Watching a drop of perspiration slowly build then dive headlong down the side of a glass. I'll leave the lamps off until I can't read anymore and maybe then only turn one on.

It's a different dark than in the winter, when you need a warm flicker in the blackness to feel cozy. Summer dark feels shady, catching the glints of water or sheen of metal (or if you're very lucky the pile of silky prosciutto you're about to drape over slices of melon so juicy I had to lick down my arm).

But the summer days are bright. When I eat lunch on the rooftop it's so bright I can barely see. Reflecting off the tin and trains and clouds so I have to cover my eyes with my hand and peer at my phone or at my friend's face.

Sometimes if the clouds are too few or the sun too hot and I retreat inside to sit in a sunbeam.

The weather has been cool enough that I can roast my bounty from the farmer's markets. Onion with bright yellow tomatoes in couscous.  Roast corn and tomatoes with queso fresco and avocado. Marinated eggplant with halloumi. Toasted quinoa with roast tomatoes and onion with parsley. That last one teetered on the edge of disaster due to my lack of supervision but my luck held and it was delicious. Though my apartment still smells like burning. Well it did until I made trout tonight so now it smells like fish. And burning. Bother.

It's still late summer and I'm mentally cataloguing all the things I would like to do before fall truly arrives. Will I make it to the lake once more? Boat down to Chinatown? Sit in the grass and listen to music? Eat gelato on an evening stroll? Stand over the sink barefoot trying not to drip while eating a peach or melon? Ride my bicyclette to a park and read? We'll see...there's always next year.

One adventure that has been finally crossed of my list is an architecture boat tour. Miss H and I spent a delightful day on the river before she left and we had fun playing tourist. The shift of perspective makes the buildings I've seen a hundred times look completely new. The clouds were being dramatic which made the shots I got even better.

But that was a while ago, and it's not time for any adventures at the moment. Just reading next to the light with a cup of tea thinking about what to do tomorrow.