why not swearing in front of kids is so great

When Rishi dropped a giant bag of Halloween candy he had been lugging around, he cried "Oh DEAR!"

things that have been stolen from my property

i hate oakland sometimes. the neighbors can give my kid balloons all day, it doesn't change the fact that stuff disappears, on a regular basis, from my doorstep. ARGH.

So, in recent weeks, I've lost

• a side table. this table furnished my stoop for several months until it abruptly disappeared this afternoon. Right after I thought/said to myself "I should take this in now that the rain has started."
• 4 pieces of outgoing mail. containing a birthday card to my mother, a personal check, and MY COMPLETED (absentee) CALIFORNIA BALLOT. Have you ever seen a California ballot? It's like a final exam of studying you have to do to be a conscientious citizen. And mine was stolen. Thankfully, since then my mail has been full of voter guides of the sort where you just take the Democratic (or Green, or "Conservation"??) flyer to the poll and check off what they tell you. But I voted my conscience! GDMF, as they say.*
• A bag of soiled diapers. SERIOUSLY??
• a car stereo. ok. we expect these to get stolen. FINE.

that's all. except maybe a plastic spider. Can you believe the nerve of these people?!?!?

luv

R

* I wonder about going to the polling place on election day. The vote-by-mail envelope has all sorts of warnings against voter fraud. So while I completed the ballot and signed it the way you're supposed to, did the crackhead who stole it mail it anyway, knowing there was no money in there? Or was it a Meg Whitman canvasser who stole it, knowing there's not a chance in hell I'd vote for her? OR WAS IT ONE OF THE MULCH PEOPLE? Pissed that the mulch was wet and possibly full of mold spores? Oh god. I have too many enemies.

pumpkin pie and a technique to keep your house warm for an afternoon

With all of the boiling and baking in this recipe, it's perfect for the first cold day of the rainy season. It coincided nicely with the first pumpkin in our veggie box. 

Take one small pumpkin (about this size or a little smaller)

From Fall 2010

, chop it up. Roast the seeds, well salted, at 200 degrees for about an hour.

Steam the pumpkin chunks in a steamer basket - about 30-40 mins

Mix these things in a bowl:

mushed pumpkin ~ 1.5 cups

3-4 heaping tablespoons crystallized honey (you know you have some hiding in the cupboard)

1/4 - 1/3 c. agave nectar or similar agave/maple blend

1 14oz can coconut milk 

2 eggs

if you have a toddler, let him help with:

1/2 tsp salt

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp powdered ginger

1/2 tsp powdered cloves (we may have gone a little light on the cloves)

mix it up, bake it in a pie shell at 425 for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 300 and bake another 40-ish minutes. it bakes a LONG time because of all of that liquid. it will be gooey, and delicious. 

what's wrong with this recipe?

THERE IS NO FAT AND NO SALT in this beautiful looking pot of soup

so even though it has yummy things like spinach and lentils and curry powder, it is dull. the flat kind of spicy that lacks the love of butter, or coconut milk. bummer!

from the desk of Madonna

"i hate actresses, they have nothing on the house of extravaganza."

!!! I would just really like to remember that phrase. 

dancers 4e!

luv, r

for Maggie: Roasted Chile Soup

Here's the soup! Modified from Roasted Poblano Soup, which my favorite Eatwell Farm sent me.

I modified it by adding every pepper-related fruit in my kitchen, which on this day included (roasted) tomatillos and (pureed) sweet red peppers. Oh and I didn't have nutmeg, so I substituted cinnamon.

3 Poblano peppers 1 cup milk
3 Gypsy or red bell peppers 1 cup cream or half-and-half
1 onion 3 Tbsp. butter
4-5 cloves garlic 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 tomatoes, chopped with juices 2 ears-worth of corn, kernels sliced off (optional)
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth cilantro
salt and pepper to taste tortilla chips
½ tsp. ground nutmeg sour cream

Preheat oven to broil. Place Poblanos on a cookie sheet and place in oven. Allow skin to blacken and blister, turning the chile peppers until all sides are done. You can also place the peppers directly over the flame on top of your stove if you have a gas burner. When they are done, place them in a bowl and cover with a lid, plate, or Saran Wrap. In about 15 to 20 mins, take them out and peel the skin off each one under running water. Remove the stems and seeds and dice. In a pan sauté the onions and garlic. Add your peppers (diced) and cook for about 5 min. Add tomatoes, broth and nutmeg. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor (be careful, the mixture will be hot and will want to jump right out of the blender. Best to do in small batches). Blend until smooth. If soup is too thick for your liking, add more broth or water to the blender until it reaches desired consistency (remembering also that you will be adding 2 more cups of liquid with the milk and cream).

In a small saucepan over med. heat, warm the milk and the cream or half-and-half and set aside. In another saucepan over med. heat, melt the butter or margarine, add the flour and stir well. Add the warmed milk and stir until well blended. Add the chile pepper mixture and mix well. Add corn, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 mins. Add cilantro sprigs, tortilla chips or yogurt/sour cream to garnish.

delicious raspberry crumble

yum! we modified this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen -- which is supposed to be a huge winner -- to reduce the wheat and refined sugar. Grammy says flour "just sits" in her belly, so we kept it light. <3

preheat oven to 375

for the crumble

1 c. whole wheat flour (which i now keep in the fridge after the WAPF people made me scared about rotten grains)

2 c. oats (we bought 110 servings of oats at Costco, so we're into em!)

1/2 c. almond flour. this was a last minute addition, but i think it added some nice heft to the crust

1/2 c. agave nectar

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 sticks butter (+ 1T for the pan)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg

for the filling

4 c. fresh raspberries

2 T lemon juice (zest would be nice too, but we didn't have any)

1/2 c. agave nectar

4 tsp corn starch (i keep this in the bathroom because it's usually a beauty product. that's for another post)

i threw some chopped almonds in here too, which didn't turn out as bad as we expected

mix the crust, put 1/2 - 2/3 in the bottom of your big stoneware lasagna pan (9x13)

pour the berries over

crumble the rest of the crust atop that berry mixture

bake 45 mins (or slightly less) until delicious and brown.

EAT! Would be great with a frozen vanilla treat of your choice, or for breakfast, or all the time. Even though I usually don't get all that excited about raspberries OR about fruit desserts, this was a great dessert. We froze a bunch too, so don't be afraid if I offer you some when you come and visit!

xoxoxo