A Good Idea

A trio of deviled eggs, served as an appetizer at a gourmet diner style restaurant, where each deviled egg was infused with a different flavor (I'm thinking something like truffles, hot pepper, anchovies, capers, etc...)

Would be a humorous nod to those trios of creme brulee that were everywhere for a while.

Maybe the best thing about summer

I was on the way back to the kitchen with a tomato I'd just picked and wondered why the scent isn't used more often in perfume. It's sharp, like a citrus, sweet, a little spicy, very fresh. A little like basil or grapefruit, but also grassy. It would probably be hard to place, and blend well with other odors. I'd wear it.

mashmallows

I've been a vegetarian for 13 years now, and one of the things I've missed the most was marshmallows.  No marshmallows in hot chocolate, no smores, no Rice Krispy Treats.  Those are some seriously comforting comfort foods.

I find it hardest not to eat things that have meat products, but don't resemble meat in any way - meat doesn't really look like food to me anymore, or trigger hunger pains.  But skittles and jello and marshmallows look so harmless and delicious.

Well, Whole Foods - at least the one by my work - has just started carrying vegan marshmallows.  There's been a gourmet marshmallow craze lately and I'd been hoping that someone would cook something up for the niche market of vegetarians, and it's finally happened.  

I can't compare them to proper marshmallows - it's been too long since I've had one - but they have that powdery outside that I remember, they are soft and sticky but not gooey and don't dissolve quickly in hot chocolate.  Exactly what I'd been missing.

I've been having hot chocolate with a marshmallow in it almost every day for the past couple of weeks.  It's just been such a treat.

Meat causes cancer

As long as I'm on my high horse, did anybody else hear this story on NPR this morning? About how eating meat causes cancer?

Seal Bay

I just ate about a half pound of Seal Bay cheese from King's Island, Tasmania. It's one of those uber-creamy bries that you can scoop out of the rind with a cracker without making the cracker crumble. Very sweet and creamy, with an amazing aftertaste of seashells. It tastes like the beach, in a good way which I could never have imagined without actually trying the stuff. Plus, it's pasteurized, so even pregnant ladies can indulge!

Anybody with an interest in fine/oddball cheeses should snap this up if they ever see it.

My job was to bring dessert

Christmas Eve dinner with the family up in LA. We were charged with bringing dessert, so I made two things.

1. Chocolate Cherry Heering Truffles. I figure everybody would want a little truffle with coffee after dinner, and I've never tried to make them before. It was easy, but very hands-on:


2. A lemon mascarpone tart with an almond lavender crust. The lemons are from my grandparents tree, and the lavender is from my parents garden. Doughs and crusts are a challenge for me, but I think this one turned out ok.


I'm about to put on my party dress and hit the road. I hope everybody is having a wonderful holiday!

Rice to Riches

A couple of days ago I went to a rice pudding shop, Rice to Riches. All they sell is rice pudding. And coffee. I really like rice pudding, and I like the idea of a store that sells only rice pudding because it is kind of absurd. It turns out I also like their brand identity, because the store is papered all over with slogans like

"We sell rice pudding, if you don't want that, you can have rice pudding, and if you don't want that, you can have rice pudding."

or

"I'll diet when the earth runs out of food"

or

"eating three sensible, balanced meals a day will only spoil your appetite for rice pudding"

or

"all calories consumed here are yours to keep"

or

"eat all you want... you're already fat"

For some reason, I found it very cheering to read these little slogans while eating rum and raisin rice pudding off of a translucent yellow paddle (offered in lieu of a spoon). Also, the rice pudding was good.