Things I've Been Doing (And Eating) Lately

Apologies for the radio silence recently but I haven't been doing or cooking much, to be honest.

I've spent most of the past two weeks:

Reading Bossypants by Tina Fey (I can't recommend it enough!)
Re-watching all the 30 Rock episodes available on Netflix Instant.
Watching other things on Netflix instant.
Uh...grocery store?

I did manage to get out of the house last weekend long enough to grab a delightful brunch at Matt Murphy's in Brookline Village. It was recommended to me by Joe Murphy (no relation) who claims that he often saw Christopher Kimball, of bow-tie wearing America's Test Kitchen fame, pop in for lunch.

It's a nice little place with an authentic Irish village vibe. It manages to be both laid back and homey with a touch of class. But, what really got me was the bread they serve with brunch. Specifically the brown bread.

Hearty and tasty with an almost oaty flavor. Perfect for morning. I would order nothing but a plate of this with some nice jam. They also make their own ketchup, which is more sweet and sour than the Heinz stuff, with an assortment of spices that I couldn't quite identify. There's definitely some cinnamon in there. Maybe cloves. It's different, but good.

My Smoked Salmon and Vegetable Omlet

After brunch I made James go to Flour with me, because I'm awful (for non-Bostonians: it takes an hour to get there from my house. Whatever! We did other stuff in the area too...) I did buy him a double chocolate chip cookie to make up for it though. Mine was white chocolate cherry chip, and while it was delicious, James' was better.

I'll be back in CT this weekend and since I love cooking in the Bachelor Kitchen I'm going to attempt to bake vegan chocolate chip cookies from Erin Mckenna's celebrated cookbook Babycakes. Stay tuned...

What I Learned From Vegan-For-A-Week

As I mentioned earlier, I spent the last week on a vegan diet. I guess I saw it as something of a personal challenge. Some people run the Boston Marathon, I try to stay away from baked goods. It's a pretty fair trade.

Admittedly, at first I thought it would be relatively easy; I already don't eat much meat and made the switch to soy milk years ago. But there's a difference between choosing to use soy milk and not being able to consume dairy. Plus I've realized just how much I enjoy things made with butter and eggs. Also, being vegan takes a lot of work. I already spend a large portion of my day thinking about food, but it's usually in a fun way. This was more of an 'ok, I have to plan my entire day around what I'm eating' kind of way, which is pretty exhausting. Apparently I'm not a great planner. I will say that I added more vegetables and fruit into my diet as result, which I will try to keep up with. I also discovered some fun substitutions, namely that hummus works just as well as cheese in a quesadilla. But over all, I spent most of the time eating some variation of this:

I came pretty close to breaking down while in Whole Foods one afternoon. I was starving and it was 4 pm and I hadn't eaten lunch. You'd think a place like Whole Foods would be Vegan Heaven, but even there my choices were pretty limited. I almost gave in until I saw a vegetable roll in the sushi case. Thank GOD.

Originally I thought I'd spend the week trying out different, exciting recipes, but as I said earlier, I'm not too good with the planning.

I did manage to make one new thing: Mark Bittman's chocolate pudding with silken tofu. My friend Ceylan had made it for her birthday a couple months ago and while I was googling for vegan recipes, it popped up. That in itself was a revelation and made the whole week worth it--even though I spend a while searching Stop & Shop for non-dairy chocolate. ( This also wouldn't have been a big deal, except it was close to 7 pm and I was starving.) I have to say that the texture of Bittman's tofu chocolate pudding rivaled my chocolate mousse that I'm so proud of. I may never go back.

However, I have returned to the meat and dairy-eating world. But, I do feel like I accomplished something during my vegan-for-a-week challenge. Or, maybe it's because I aim low--less chance for disappointment.

Jemily: A Brief History Or Rather, An Explanation

Three years ago yesterday, James took me in his arms, looked deep into my eyes and asked: "So, are we boyfriend/girlfriend yet?" I answered something in the affirmative and a relationship was born. A few months later I moved to Boston for graduate school and we've been mostly long distance ever since. It's annoying/awesome. Here's three reasons for each:

Why It's Annoying

1.) When I go out, I have to buy my own beers. Apparently single straight dudes don't buy you drinks just to be nice or because they're looking for a sassy female sidekick.

2.) I sleep with 5 pillows, two of which I actually use. The other three I assemble into a James-shaped lump that I spoon with. That in itself isn't annoying, it's the fact that I always have to be the big spoon.

3.) Because of James' work schedule we can only talk on the phone after 9:30 pm and we're both usually too tired to have more than a 15 minute conversation about how boring our days were. Sometimes it'll stretch out to 20 if he starts talking about the Red Sox or some wrestler he saw on tv.

Why It's Awesome

1.) When James does start talking about the Red Sox or burly men in short pants I can read celebrity gossip online without him realizing it. Sucker!

2.) There are times when all I want to do is sit in bed and catch up on whatever reality show about rich menopausal women is on Bravo at the moment without having to explain why I haven't left the house all day and that it isn't weird, dammit! I can do that with wild abandon. My roommates think I'm crazy, but that's ok. I'm not trying to sleep with any of them.

3.)Whenever we do see each other we're usually genuinely excited about it--consequently we do nothing but fun things, like have breakfast for dinner and go on shopping sprees at Ocean State Job Lot.

Imagine: We might have children who might see this photo one day. I'll have to explain to them that it was, in fact, not the 1970s.

Sometimes people forget we're together or assume that I'm just making him up. This is probably because we regularly spend days or weeks apart. I have friends whom I've known for years that still haven't met James. Also, we've maybe broken up/gotten back together a few times over the past year. I know I lost count months ago. It's nothing personal. At least...as impersonal as wanting wildly different living situations is.

While I like the excitement of living in cities, James hates public transportation and close contact with transients. I like having access to a never ending variety of cultural opportunities , while James favors familiar places where he isn't required to wear a tie. Sure, I may not always take advantage of said cultural offerings, but I like knowing I could go to the MFA for free on a Thursday if I really wanted to. Likewise, James has nothing against ties but he'd rather have the option to mix it up a bit.

I suppose our relationship is kind of like the opening to Green Acres, or maybe it's like that Potato/Tomato song by Gershwin. Or maybe it's like Brokeback Mountain; We just can't figure out how to quit each other. Some people have suggested that it would be easier if we just broke up. Like, for real. But then I would be sad and lonely all the time. At least now I get a nice James visit to break up the monotony once in a while. Besides, we already tried that for six months sort of. I cried every time we saw each other and ended up making out with a guy with hand tattoos. I mean come on--hand tattoos!

Eventually, something is going to happen: I might get that dream job where I live in London and am paid to do nothing but write about biscuits and tea for Biscuits and Tea Magazine. Or maybe James' Greek mother will curse me for not marrying her beautiful first born son within the first month of dating and I'll be cast off to a barren island in the middle of the Aegean with nothing but goats and sharp rocks for company. Or, maybe, one of us will strike it rich playing Powerball or by selling a book about a neurotic twenty-something just trying to make it in the big city (ahem) and we'll be able to fulfill our shared dream of never having to live through a New England winter again.

Actually, that's just my dream. James' dream involves a wall of TVs, all from the late 70s to the early 90s, all programmed to different channels.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: I don't know what will happen; and though the anxiety-driven control freak in me is having a melt down trying to plan ahead for the next five years, the relatively normal part of me is happy for the time we've had--even with all the strange detours our relationship has taken along the way. I know that I've made a friend for life, no matter what happens. Because if you've found someone who knows about your weird little dream about a wall made from TVs harvested from the Goodwill who will still answer your phone calls, you never let that person go. You hear me? Never.

Wish List

Oooo the new, updated, Amanda Hesser edited version of The Essential New York Times Cookbook is coming out!


If someone wanted to buy this for me I wouldn't re-gift it--just sayin'. Hesser is great. Check out her and Merrill Stubbs' website food52 for more fun recipes without the price tag.

Weekend Update: Sunday Edition

Ah, it's a glorious Sunday here in Boston; the kind that reminds me why I moved here in the first place (and after a New England winter, one needs such reminders.) I've brunched in the South End, paid a visit to Flour, and am planning on meeting up with some CT friends in the Fenway later on.

While at The Gallows for brunch I had something wonderful:

Grapefruit Brulee

Yes, there is such a thing and it is delicious. I assume one would need a tiny blow torch, as I don't know how well grapefruit would hold up in the broiler. I suppose there's only one way to find out.

After I finished the grapefruit, my meal of asparagus/swiss frittata, and an excellent bloody mary I decided to stop off at Flour, that bakery some people say I'm 'obsessed' with. Hey, it's been months. Anyways, I got my standard soy latte and granola bar but also picked up one of their homemade oreos.

I think I've been ruined for the real thing because this version was amazing. And yes, cookies can be amazing--at least in my world.

So it looks like the granola bar will have to wait until tomorrow, or probably just later today since
I've decided to take up the Vegan For A Week challenge beginning Monday via No More Dirty Looks

Alright. Time to go slave away on The Book for a bit before heading out to watch the Sox

Turning Japonaise

How about a review of sorts, since we haven't had one of those in a while? Japonaise Bakery and Cafe mixes Japanese snack staples with French influences. A nice assortment of traditional bakery items like cream puffs and croissants are accompanied by Japanese specialties like Curry Donuts and Melon Pan.

The An Pan, made from an airy dough and stuffed with sweet red bean paste is a nice change from your standard Starbucks fare.

I recently tried a potato and veggie patty breaded and fried then topped with a sweet and tangy glaze of bbq sauce and served on a brioche bun. Heaven.

Bite mark not included

They also bake a number of fresh breads like the Shoku Pan, a traditional white bread great for sandwiches. I imagine it would work particularly well for dainty tea sandwiches.

Victorian Jelly

I'm still hard at work on the book proposal but I found time this weekend to take a break from writing and get into the kitchen. I recently finished Fannie's Last Supper by Christopher Kimball. You may recognize him and his bow-tie from PBS airings of America's Test Kitchen. Or not, if you aren't a nerd.

Anyways, the book is about recreating one crazy High Victorian dinner party using recipes from the Fannie Farmer cookbook. Seeing as how both Ms. Farmer and Mr. Kimball live/d in Boston it was an interesting read both from a historical and foodie perspective.

There are lots of great descriptions of food and recipes from Fannie's time, but it was the chapter on jellies that caught my eye. There were a number of yummy-sounding gelatins and though some of the more disgusting concoctions of the 1950s have given these trembling towers a bad rep, they really can be quite intricate and delicious. I decided to keep things simple with the recipe for a layered lemon jelly.

Though packets of gelatin had already been in use for some time during the turn of the century, Kimball and Co. went the old fashioned route for this recipe and made calf's foot jelly, then sweetened and colored it accordingly. I did no such thing and readily substituted a packet of Knox gelatin. Lemon jelly on its own sounded rather boring, so I added some fresh raspberries to the mix.

2 envelopes Gelatin

1 1/2 cup lemon juice

2 cups water

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 container fresh raspberries

yellow food coloring

red/blue food coloring

1. Combine gelatin, the lemon juice, water and sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is melted.

2. Divide the gelatin into separate bowls and color as desired (if you want a deeper shade red, I suggest adding a drop of blue food coloring). Pour into chilled jelly mold. Let each layer set completely before adding the next.

Before

*Since I don't own a fancy jelly mold (yet) I substituted a glass bowl. Make sure you oil it a bit before adding jelly for easier removal.

*I added the raspberries to the middle layer, but do as you wish.

*If the jelly seems too loose mix another packet with some hot water and add it in. I'll admit I had a bit of trial and error with this recipe since I wasn't using calf's foot jelly, so if this isn't precise I apologize.

After

This photo reminds me a bit of The Blob, but does a nice job of showcasing the layers

For more Victorian recipes and info on the book check out www.fannieslastsupper.com