Sweet Tooth Haven

French Silk Pie

I first tasted French Silk Pie at a Bob Evan's restaurant when I was a kid.  I can't quite remember if it was a picture of the pie on the menu or an actual pie in a case that I saw, but I knew I wanted to try it.  My sisters weren't interested, but as soon as it came, they wouldn't stop "tasting" it and my dad ended up ordering a second slice.  

Most chocolate pie I see is chocolate cream pie and has a sort of custardy/pudding filling, which is okay, but not for me.  French silk pie is filled with light, creamy, and, well, silky chocolate filling and one of the only pies I like. 

Recently I woke up with a craving for French silk pie, but no idea where to get a slice around here.  I decided to make one for myself.  After comparing several online recipes, I decided to go with Jean Webster's French Silk Pie from Martha Stewart's website.  Delicious!  Exactly what I was craving! 

I also learned a few things:

• You can buy pasteurized eggs or make them yourself if you are serving it to young, elderly, or pregnant folk, or if you are leary of raw egg in your food.  I used some store bought pasteurized eggs, and while the pie tasted fabulous, I think it may be the reason it wasn't as light and fluffy as it could have been.
  
• Sweetened whipped cream is called Chantilly Cream.

One question I have:  How do you make whipped cream (or Chantilly Cream) that lasts more than a few hours?  Unless you know the trick to this, or are eating the whole pie at once, I recommend serving the whipped cream separately and whipping up a separate batch when having leftovers.   I topped the pie last night and this morning my cream was starting to 'melt.' (Yes it was in the refrigerator!)

Homemade Pita

Today I used dough for the European Peasant Bread recipe in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and made small individual sized pitas (also in the book).  I used balls of dough a bit smaller than golf balls rolled out to 1/8 inch thick.  They were in the 500-degree oven on a cast iron pizza pan for 3-4 minutes and puffed up like crazy. 

Lilacs!

We lived in New Hampshire for a few years when I was a kid.  Every spring after the snow finally melted, the lilac bush in our backyard would bloom.  Lilacs must need that cold winter because you rarely see them here in southern California.  In fact, I've only seen lilacs in a store once.  Until today.  Today they had some at Trader Joe's.  They were grown in California and smell just as wonderful as I remember.  Aren't they lovely?

I Love the Internet

How else would I learn about Rocky, the standing cat from France.  Apparently Rocky stands on his hind legs to get a better view of the birds outside the window.

Ruby Jewel

It was 90-degrees here for two days this week and it wasn't even spring.  When I stopped at the store on my way home from work, the heat had me craving some ice cream.  I found some Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwiches on the bottom shelf of the freezer and decided to try them. 

The flavors sounded so intriguing, I couldn't decide and took home 3 sandwiches: 

• Lemon Cookie with Lavender Honey
• Dark Chocolate Cookie with Fresh Mint
• Cinnamon Chocolate Cookie with Espresso.

A few days later and we've finished them off.  The cookies are pretty big and I ended up cutting each one in half to share (although my boyfriend was not interested in the lemon one).

All three flavors were delicious.  The ice cream was super creamy and the flavor combinations just right. 

The Dark Chocolate Mint was pretty strong and reminded me of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies.  This one seemed to have a more crunchy cookie than the others and was my boyfriend's favorite.

Lemon Lavender had a softer cookie with a refreshing lemon flavor. The lavender and honey added a subtle something that I found irresistible.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I usually like coffee flavored ice creams and the Cinnamon Chocolate Espresso sandwich was undeniably good. 

Combine the scrumptious tastes of these treats with the fact that they are handmade and the owner is committed to sustainability and you've got a winner.  I'll be buying these again.

What Have You Done for Me Lately?

I go through phases of supplement mania.  While I always take a multivitamin, calcium, and B12, I vary the other supplements.  I'm a bit fickle.  If I read about something that is supposed to help this or that condition, I try it out for a while.  I guess I give up on certain supplements when I begin to wonder if they're really necessary.  Are they really doing anything for me?  Am I wasting money?

Recently I found this wonderful visualization of supplement effectiveness by Information is Beautiful.  Not only is it pleasing to look at, it condenses actual research on supplements into a visual format so it's easy to see what works for various conditions.  You can either click on the supplement name to see the condition, or when you roll your mouse over to the right of the chart a condition checklist appears.  

Stick above the Worth it Line and you've got yourself a supplement that is probably doing something for you besides emptying your wallet.

Links to the article and the interactive graphic.

As new research emerges, the visualization will be updated with it.  So, bookmark it and check for yourself before spending money on snake oil.

Growing Magnolia Trees

*Disclaimer* This is by no means meant as a scientific article.  I am not a botanist, nor do I have much of a green thumb. I have no idea if my little trees will survive this winter let alone grow into blooming magnolia trees.  But at least something grew from the seeds.

This summer the magnolia trees near my neighborhood pool smelled so fabulous I decided I wanted to plant some.  A little research on the trusty old internet lead me to this Magnolia Seed Pod site by Linda Nix.  Encouraged by her easy to follow steps I waited for the seed pods to ripen.

Here's my method (remember the disclaimer - YMMV). 

1.  Obtain ripened seed pod.  The bright red seeds should be bursting out.

2.  Remove the seeds and soak them overnight in some water to soften the tough outer skin.

3.  Remove the outer red seed coat.  Some seeds will pop out when squeezed at one end.  Inside there is a slimy tan seed that reminded me of a pine nut.  Sorry I forgot to photograph this step.

4.  Wash the seeds to remove the oily coating.  I figure this part must be done by the digestive tracts of animals that eat the seeds.

5.  I planted my seeds in reconstituted individual peat pellets like these:

Then placed them in my makeshift growing container (a glass baking dish covered with plastic wrap).

6.  It had been several MONTHS and I was about to throw the whole experiment out when I saw a little plant emerging.  A few days later the leaves popped out..

7.  At the first sign of leaves, I removed the plant from the makeshift grower and planted it in a pot in some soil.  It's now sitting by a window and has since been joined by another pot with another seedling.  I see two more emerging and a few more have roots.  I have know idea what I'll do with them once they grow too big for pots.  I don't have much of a yard.

Any takers?

Vegetarian Ceviche

Ceviche is a dish generally made with raw fish or shrimp that is marinated by the acid in lime or lemon juice. I don't eat fish, raw or otherwise.  This is a vegetarian version in which cauliflower substitutes for the fish.  But don't worry, the cauliflower is diced so small and absorbs so many other flavors, it is unrecognizable.  Trust me, I'm not a huge fan, and my carnivore boyfriend loves it.  The idea from this came from  a coworker who  brought in some leftover vegetarian ceviche made by his mother.  Needless to say it was outstanding.   I got impatient waiting for his mother's recipe, so I created my own from what I remember as the ingredients.   With all the fresh veggies, I imagine this would be crazy-good for you if it wasn't eaten with tortilla chips. Get your best chopping knife and get started!

Preparation takes a bit of time, but it's easily made ahead and kept in the fridge.

Makes about 3 cups.

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 3-4 limes depending on juicieness (Lemons work, too.  Or, try a combination.)
• 2 roma tomatoes
• 2-3 serrano chilies (or jalapenos)
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt to taste

Directions:

1.  Separate the cauliflower into florets.  Try to get them uniform in size.

2.  Use raw cauliflower and skip this step!  Or, blanch the cauliflower in boiling, salted water for about 3 minutes.  Immediately drain and place in an ice-water bath to stop cooking.

3.  Once cauliflower is cool, it's time to chop.  Dice fairly small, less then 1/4 inch is good.  Also try to keep as uniform as possible.   

4.  Place diced cauliflower in a non-reactive bowl (glass, ceramic, stainless).  Add enough lime juice to coat all the cauliflower and pool up in the bottom.  You want it very wet because you'll be adding more to the juice.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

5.  After about 1 1/2 hours, begin preparing the rest of the ingredients.  Collect all the chopped ingredients in a bowl to add at once to the cauliflower.  It's best to chop everything about the same size, with the chilies and garlic being smallest. Prepare yourself!   Don your so-stylish, eye-saving Onion Goggles.   Dice the onion very small (try for about 1/4 inch, or roughly the size of your cauliflower). 

6.  Quarter the tomatoes lengthwise and remove the seeds before dicing.

7.  The easiest way for me to mince chilies:  First cut off the stems.  Cut chili in half lengthwise.  Use a spoon to scrape out seeds and ribs.  Cut matchstick strips lengthwise, then perpendicular.  Wash your hands before touching eyes! 

9.  Chop the cilantro.  Add the onion, tomatoes, chilies, and cilantro to the cauliflower and stir.  Add the crushed garlic and 1/4 teaspoon cumin.  Start with 1 teaspoon salt then add more to your taste.

10.  Place back in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour for best flavor.   This is one of those dishes that is better the longer it sits.

Serve with chips.  Enjoy a healthy, flavorful dip!

Printable Vegetarian Ceviche Recipe (pdf) - NOTE - Skip the blanching to use raw cauliflower.

Brown Widow Egg Sac

Well, I went to see if the brown widow was still under the leaf and look what I found.

Move Over Oreos

I usually purchase Joes Joes chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookies from Trader Joe's when I have an Oreo craving.  (I love the vanilla Joe Joes as well!)  The other day I was in Whole Foods and was looking for something sweet when these Late July Vanilla Bean With Green Tea cookies caught my eye.  I purchased an individual snack pack to try them.  I actually bought a whole box today.  They are a bit pricey, but worth it.  Organic cookies that include whole grains and green tea.  At least you get something good for you when you're satisfying a cookie urge.   The Dark Chocolate are  probably worth trying as well. 

Beware the Brown Widow

Brown widow spiders are fairly new arrivals in California.  For creatures that are supposed to be reclusive, I've been seeing quite a few.   I first became aware of them at the end of August when cleaning my classroom.   I saw some round, white, spiky egg sacs attached to the window and a coworker told me they were from brown widows.  Never having heard about brown widows, I looked them up and she was right.  I wish I had taken pictures.  Now I found a large brown widow that lives behind a leaf on my back wall.  There are babies as well.  It's a speedy spider and I have not been able to get a good picture of the orange marking on the belly, but it's there. 

You can just about see the orange marking through the blurriness.

My Mutant Feijoa Leaf

I noticed this strange double-leaf on my feijoa tree today while I was watering.  Not sure if I should be worried. Is it a harbinger of mutant fruit?

My Mystery Worm

Since we moved into our house several years ago we keep finding these little critters.  One will be scooting across the floor like pictured, or hanging on the wall in our garage.  At first we just found a case/covering every once in a while, then one day I saw one moving and noticed the worm.  I've never seen anything like it and have no idea what it could be or where it comes from.   Maybe it's some sort of larva? 

The case is tough and gritty and looks made of sand.  The one pictured also seems to have some type of fuzz stuck to it.  The little worm pulls the case along like a snail with a shell.  Since I have no clue what it could be, I don't know whether it is harmful or not.  We find them more often in the summer and even then only about once a week.  Strange.

40 Years Ago

The Best BeachBooks

Thousands of NPR listeners voted and chose the 100 Best Beach Reads. I'm sure this means different things to different people.  Some readers might prefer an easy, breezy read while kicking back on the beach, other enjoy a good thriller, fantasy, or something that requires even more concentration.  Whatever your choice, check out the final list.  I printed a copy, highlighted the books I've read, and added others to my reading wishlist.

There are many terrific books on the NPR list.  Some of my favorites from the list:

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
• The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkein
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
• Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
• Dune by Frank Herbert
• Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Favorites of mine that didn't make it:

• Maisie Dobbs Series by Jacqueline Winspear
• Mistress of the Art of Death Series by Ariana Franklin
• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
• Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss