As Thanksgiving approaches, I am not sure what I am going to be able to make for dinner without an oven or stove. Our kitchen remodel is moving forward nicely, but we will not be ready until late December.
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite meals to make..and I absolutely love making stuffing! (and eating stuffing too). It won't be the same without a turkey..
..toast, popcorn & jellybeans ;o)
and I only had to hang up on tech support in India once (a record for me!).
turns out that all i needed was my IP address. i eventually figured out how to hit the modem to see it (gee - just like hitting the router, but you have to be plugged in to the modem).
for future reference, the key to everything is
192.168.1.1
of course, if I can't get into the internet, I'll never be able to find that. So I used my label maker to put all the vital info on the router itself.
I hope I have at least another 2 years before I go through this again.
The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe,
to match your nature with Nature.
~Joseph Campbell
At the start of the day I thought I knew what today's "Note From The Universe" meant and I laughed out loud at its perfect timing and choice of words.
|
|
However, at the end of this day, I am less certain what it means than when the day started.
But it is Friday the 13th and perhaps it's time to think some entirely new thoughts.
The Universe is looking out for me. I just need to keep listening.
This is the closest I've gotten to the place Guinness is born.
It's been awhile since I posted a recipe on the blog..I think this is due to the fact that my kitchen is still under remodel and I am only reheating food from our temporary kitchen in the garage (i.e. microwave & toaster oven getting lots of action).
To wake me from my food prison, I thought this recipe sounded yummy and perfect for the fall season. If you have a chance to make it, please let me know how it tastes ;o)
Pumpkin Crumb Cakes
from The Kitchn
makes one 13x9 cake or 18 individual cakes
Dry Mix
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
Cake Batter
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 dry mix
Pumpkin Filling
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Crumb Topping
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon water
1/2 dry mixture (see above)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Heat the oven to 350°F. Sift together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder for the dry mix.
Beat the butter until whipped and creamy and then beat in the eggs and vanilla. Beat in about half of the dry mix of flour and sugar. Set aside.
Whip together the eggs, pumpkin puree, milk, brown sugar and spices for the pumpkin filling. Set aside.
Mix the rest of the dry mix with a stick of butter, an extra half cup of flour, and the spices. Add a tablespoon of water and mix with fingers until loose and crumbly.
To make a full pan of crumb cake, grease a 9x13 baking pan and pat the dough into the bottom. Pour the pumpkin filling over top and sprinkle the crumb topping over it. To make individual cakes instead, repeat using 4-ounce paper souffle cups. After they are baked, let the individual cups cool for an hour then cut the paper cups away with scissors for individual cakes.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until the filling is set inside. Let cool for at least an hour before slicing.
My DSL is repaired but will only work if I'm hooked up to the modem via an ethernet cable.
I've tried, for an hour this morning and another hour tonight, to configure the Linksys wireless router (which I installed and have previously reconfigured a couple times). It comes up as configured and connected but won't let me go anywhere - everything times out.
I think the problem is internet security settings... that I have them configured, somewhere, for the wireless router too. I've checked, disabled, and/or reset everything I can think of but still can't get internet access via my wireless router.
Yes, it is making me insane.
There's a certain je ne sais quoi about dumplings. I'm fascinated by dumplings of all cultures, shapes, and forms. From matzoh balls to pierogi, from momos to gnocchi, they are the perfect comfort food.
The fact that they are usually a hundred percent carbohydrate is completely irrelevant.
I always though gnocchi were made with eggs, so the discovery that they don't have to be came as a pleasant surprise. In fact, some traditionalists say that eggs make for a chewier gnocchi, and that is not good. Three large sweet potatoes in the CSA box, some sturdy sage from the herb pot, and we're all set!
What you need:
2 lbs sweet potatoes, roasted (45 minutes in a 450 degree oven), peeled, mashed well
2/3 cup ricotta cheese (throw it in a fine sieve to allow water to drain out, a couple of hours or so)
1.5 cups or more of all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
The idea is to make a dough out of the above, using as little flour as possible. To make that possible, use the firmest variety of sweet potatoes you can find. Roast them in the oven instead of boiling. Dust all surfaces with generous amounts of flour and keep dusting.
Bring a huge pot of water to a boil.
Mix together the mashed sweet potatoes, ricotta, flour, salt and pepper. Don't overwork the dough. All you want is for it to stay together and not stick to your hands. Divide the dough into six pieces (a dough separator/scraper comes in very handy.)
Roll each piece out into a half-inch thick string and cut into gnocchi a bit larger than your thumbnail. Then press a floured fork into the back of the gnocchi to create grooves for sauce. Go here for a technique video.
Cook the gnocchi in three batches. Simply add them to the boiling water and fish out with a slotted spoon as soon as they start to float. Place in a platter.
At this point, you can spread them on a sheet, freeze, then store the frozen pieces in a ziplock bag. Or you can saute them in a sauce of your choosing. I melted a couple of tbsp of butter, fried ten sage leaves in it and added 2 tbsp of maple syrup, before giving the gnocchi a quick saute. Delicious.
and he's earning his pay today. I'm getting a strong feeling that he can't find anything wrong.
This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.
Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime\xAE 6.5 or higher is required.
Was here at 820am. Had a device that sounded like spaceships. Made noises for about 15 min then left, saying he'd be right back. He left his parking cones so I guess I should be more hopeful.
I'm tired and have a wicked headache.
This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.
Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.
