To Be Titled

Samples (Taken with Instagram at Two Spoons)

I regularly make pancakes or waffles on weekends now. I like all of Bob’s Red Mill stuff, but I usually get the 10 Grain Pancake & Waffle Mix. The whole grain flavors really come through, which is great.

The secret to nice fluffy pancakes: Separate the eggs. Mix the yolks with everything else, but beat the egg whites until they peak. Fold in the beaten egg whites into the rest of the mixture well and then cook the pancakes immediately.

This method was actually suggested on the back of the pancake mix packaging for “delightfully light” waffles. The mixture, however, ended up sticking heavily to the waffle iron. But the recipe works well for pancakes.

(Photo via my Flickr)

“Goat Cheese Soufflé” — From my now-unquestionably favorite cookbook—Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Suppers. This is after the first baking of a twice-baked soufflé. It cooled after the first baking, and then I baked it the second time later in the day with some half-and-half and grated pecorino on top. (photo via my Flickr)

“Songpyeon” (송편) — Today (August 15th of the lunar calendar) is Korean Thanksgiving (추석). Mom cooked a delicious Korean meal. This is the traditional Thanksgiving rice cake. The white ones in the front are plain. The yellow ones are colored with the juice from kabocha squash (Japanese winter squash). The pink ones in the back are colored with little red fruit (오미자). Inside the rice cakes are crushed sesame with honey, crushed mung beans with honey or crushed black beans with honey. That’s a young pine cone for garnish. (photo via my Flickr)

“Radish Wraps” — A part of a wonderful dinner that my mom cooked for my birthday on Thursday. I love the colors. @dailyshoot #ds305 for food. (photo via my Flickr)

“Baja Fish Fry” — Not a great food photo shot, but it’s my favorite dish at Centro Latin Kitchen. (Trying to take a photo of the food in front of me when I’m hungry is not a good idea.) Fried rock cod with seared greens and hot corn salad. Poblano tartar, spicy vinegar and habanero dipping sauces. The fish is crispy, and the corn salad bursts with flavors. The habanero dipping sauce is my favorite. A great deal for $16. Shot for @dailyshoot #ds277 for a meal. (Photo via my Flickr)

“StrEatChefs.com” — My colleague and friend Jenny organized a field trip outing for lunch today to the StrEat Chefs location for the day. It’s a gourmet food truck, started by a team headed by the Season 5 winner of Top Chef, Hosea Rosenberg. The truck parks in different places in and around Boulder to serve lunch. The food was amazing. I got the grilled cheese, “loaded” with pork belly and apple jam ($6), and it was an excellent combination of flavors. I also got a taste of homemade golden tater tots with green chile and cheese ($4), and the sauce was flavorful, but two orders of the tots themselves were cold. My colleagues raved about the tomato and watermelon gazpacho with mint ($4) and the cherry limeade ($2). Chef Hosea was present himself and served food to customers out of one of the trailer windows. StrEatChefs is a great idea, well executed, and I can’t wait to go back in the future. Shot for @dailyshoot #ds275 for a sign. (Photo via my Flickr. More here, here and here.)

“Cookie Monster Cupcakes” — By the baker extraordinaire (among many other things) Jenny for Xander’s birthday party yesterday. (Photo via my Flickr)

“Transparent Beans” — I haven’t had to buy coffee beans for several weeks. During my weekly grocery shopping today, I bought a bag of sumatra and noticed the new coffee bean bags at Sunflower Farmers Market. Instead of the single line on which people write in the name of the beans, now the bags have a see-through window. Of course, being a coffee connoisseur that I am, I can tell that these beans are sumatra simply by looking at them through the window. (photo via my Flickr)

“Apple-Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie” — Also by Sarah, after the delicious pizza dinner. A runner-up for the @dailyshoot #ds243 assignment. (photo via my Flickr)

“Yum” — One of many pizzas that Sarah made for dinner tonight. I like this pre-bake shot (well, the crust was pre-baked a little) because of the story it tells with all the things surrounding the pizza.

Basic recipe:

• Part-wholewheat flour dough
• Grilled asparagus
• Grilled tomatoes
• Chorizo (vegetarian)
• Mozzarella and herbs

(photo via my Flickr for @dailyshoot #ds243)

“Shortcake” — Jaime made these over the weekend for a little get-together at our house. Here’s the recipe she wrote up for me:

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) - chilled and cut up into small cubes 
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 1 cup whipping cream

In food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt for 5 seconds. Add butter, pulsing quickly until mixture resembles course meal. Add cream and vanilla. Process just until clumps begin to form. Gather dough into a ball. Either roll out and use a round biscuit cutter to form shortcakes OR (as I did) form shortcakes by hand.

Place on greased (or parchment lined), baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 18-20 minutes - until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

“Grilled Veggies” — From a pre-July 4th BBQ at home.

Yellow and orange bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and red pearl onions. Olive oil, salt and pepper. (Photo via my Flickr)

“White Sangria” — The recipe was loosely based on Emeril Lagasse’s online.

• Fruit (nectarines, peaches, etc.)
• 1 tablespoon of lime juice
• 1/4 cup of Grand Marnier
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• Splashes of riesling
• 1/4 cup of pear juice
• 1.5 liter of dry white wine

Chill this base for a while. To serve, put a few frozen raspberries in each glass, fill the glass about 2/3 full with the base, including some fruit, and to off with a dry sparkling wine. (I study the politics of international trade—I don’t use the label champagne inappropriately.)

(Photo via my Flickr)