Soup, bread and chopping celery

I LOVE soup.  It's been a staple in my diet for many years.  My mom used to make large amounts of baked potato, black bean and other various soups for me and freeze them so I could take then with me to Columbia.  That was back when I never cooked for myself and sometimes didn't have enough money for all my basics, like food.  There is nothing like a bowl of soup to warm you on a cold rainy day.  We've been having a lot of cold wet weather here. No, its not snow. It's just miserable wet and cold.  Though it doesn't matter too much, to me though, I will eat soup anytime any place.

Buying vegetables at the commissary (grocery store) on Okinawa is quite the experience.  You never know whats going to be there and you never know if it will be worth buying.  A small bag of potatoes costs $10.  We eat a lot of rice.  The most consistent well priced types I've come across are carrots, celery and zucchini. It's lucky that zucchini is so cheap since it's my favorite. The carrots and celery come in prepackaged bags.  I honestly can't remember how much everything costs back home because I didn't do much grocery shopping for myself.  I do some chopping and freezing.  It's easy to do with those two vegetables and they make great ingredients for soup.  It might be more logical to buy already frozen or canned veggies. I do buy frozen for certain items like spinach and broccoli and canned for tomatoes and mushrooms.  It all depends on cost effectiveness and flavor. 

 This is my second attempt at this recipe and while its not as pretty as the first its much more filling and delicious.  The link is to the original recipe but I have highly modified the recipe so I have included my exact version. The recipe is great for left overs.

Mushroom Barley Soup

1 cup barley

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1cup carrot chopped

1 1/2 cup celery chopped

3 small cans of mushrooms

5 cups chicken broth or beef broth

a dash of red wine vinegar

two bay leaves

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stir in the onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent. Stir in mushrooms, bay leaf and barley, and cook 5 minutes more.

Pour in broth, and bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium or medium-low, and continue simmering 30 minutes or until tender.

Another thing easy and great recipe is Beer Bread.  I made it a few times with my mother when I was younger and found a recent post by Food Blogga that reminded me how easy and quick it is.

 Basic Beer Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 (12-ounce) bottle beer, preferably dark, such as porter or stout (don't use light beer)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat and 8-by-4-inch or 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients. Pour into pan. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until top is golden broan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely.

Yup it is just that easy.  No yeast, no fuss. I think I'm going to eat some right now.

Black velvet unicorn paintings and the easiest recipes ever

I have a back log of posts due to my computer being out of business for a little while.  I will post one a day until I catch up.*  On an unrelated note, I wish I had this painting in my living room.

Borrowed from the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab website. Some day I will post a picture of my collection from them.

After being ill for a over a week it was difficult to get back into my routine of cooking, cleaning, being a general house wife... not to mention doing anything for myself.  We finally made it to the grocery store and I was able to get much needed ingredients.  I will simply post the link from the myrecipes website for this one.

Four-Cheese Manicotti 

If I would have taken the time to read the reviews I would have used a Ziploc bag to fill the manicotti up rather than a spoon.  Next time I will read the reviews more closely like I usually do.  This recipe is very good.  The only thing I changed was the veggie cream cheese, I couldn't find it here so I used a  little bit of onion and chive cream cheese.  I wouldn't do that again due to how strong that taste is, so it is good that the experiment only involved about half the amount recommended.  How did the husband review it..."Very good, " he said.  That's about the best the best answer I've ever gotten, second only to the bourbon glazed tenderloins I made last month.  That will be remade and posted on here very soon.

And now the fun stuff... Key Lime Pie!

This recipe is amazing. And it has a story.  I had three cats before I left the states to live with my husband in Okinawa.  For several reasons, as it is not that interesting, I decided to leave them in the US until we get back.  I drove Jack to Columbia to live with my old roommate Marla and my mom and I flew Sal and Maggie to live with my grandmother in Florida.  Due to a surgery my grandmother had I ended up flying there again to take care of her dog and my cats while she was in the hospital, with in a month and a half I spent about 3 and a half weeks there between my two visits.  While my grandmother was in the hospital and after she got back, she had quite a few friends and neighbors stop by to check in.  They were all very nice, but one in particular was exceptional.  Her name is Barb.  Barb is a great friend to my grandmother, she came over many times bringing food and treats.  She went out to eat with us a couple times before the surgery.  I told her about my apprehension to cooking and she gave me several recipes.  I'm not sure I would have believed how good this was if she hadn't made it for us. Between my grand mother and myself we finished it in two days! Thank you, Barb.

Bimini Key Lime Pie

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 - 8oz package of cream cheese softened

1/2 to 3/4 cup Key Lime juice

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 graham cracker pie crust

Combine milk, cream cheese and lime juice in blender on low speed until smooth. Add vanilla and stir into mixture.  pour into graham cracker crust.  Chill in refrigeratior and let set for 3 or 4 hours.

I did a few things different.  I baked the pie crust in the oven for a couple of minutes to make sure it didn't crumble too much.  The pie tastes very good with regular lime juice, which is good since that was all I had and I recommend using 3/4 cup if you want to taste the lime.  I also used a low fat can of sweetened condensed milk, not sure if it made a big difference.  The last thing, I used a handheld mixer to mix the ingredients, it would probably still be amazing even if you just used a spoon.
This didn't go over that well with the husband, but that's okay!  More for me :)

*disclaimer: I'm not in an editing mood right now, I may come back and clean this post.

Neil Gaiman, Burn Notice and how to waste time sitting on a couch while listening to screaming children

Oh. Oh, the never ending sounds of screaming children.  The neighbors let them scream from anywhere between  6 to 10 hours a day.  It sounds like they are inside my house.  I've tried to blast NIN in their general direction, but still it continues...

Some weeks are slower than others.  Sometimes that is welcomed, at least when a few choice things are accomplished.  When your highlight of the week involves making minestrone and getting new dressers you've taken it to new heights, or lows depending on your definition.  I finally finished Season 3 of Burn Notice, so I guess that's something.
The best book I have read in a very long time is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.  He is my favorite author for so many reasons.  He's accessible, charming, witty, humble and talented. I started reading him in high school, mostly because of his associations with one of my favorite musicians, Tori Amos.  The first book I read was Neverwhere, followed shortly after by Stardust (which recently was made into a film).  My obsession with fiction may have started with Anne Rice, but Neil made it real for me.  I frequently read his blog and look to him for inspiration, being able to see successful artist grow and change is amazing but he takes the time to talk to his fans and gives very good advice.  Although one bit of advice I'm sort of glad I didn't take is this.   It's a brilliantly written email from writer who is teaching and advises not to get a degree in creative writing.  Here is a small portion of the email she sent him (the link is above):

You can expect to learn a lot about craft in a creative writing program – how to develop characters, work on elements of narration, and, possibly, get some good feedback from other writers about your work. The dominant model for a writing program is the workshop where you distribute your story to everyone in your class, they read it, and come back the next week to critique it. Depending on the professor, this can be a valuable experience or it can be devastating. If you get class members who want to destroy any writer they see as competition for the title of “best in class,” the workshop can be quite destructive to a young writer who is just beginning to develop a sense of him or herself. Regardless of whether it’s a good workshop or not, you will be in a class with a lot of other writers who want to create ART and will scoff at anything that doesn’t have literary* aspirations.

Creative writing programs will not teach you how to be a published writer. Talking about the business aspects of writing seems to be taboo in most programs. You will not learn how to assess writers’ guidelines, find publications that are looking for what you write, find an agent or, in anyway, make money from your writing. Though most writers do not make a living by writing, creative writing programs don't see themselves as needing to teach job skills. (Diane Glazman)

*(Literary fiction as opposed to genre fiction. and YES  people, including universities, are giant snobs about it )
Everything she says is absolutely true.  However, if someone has not been a practicing writer it is a great way to learn skills quickly and techniques to enhance your writing.  No doubt it has slowed my progress as a writer overall, frequently to a standstill, but in the long run I think it has helped me develop some sort of skin to take criticism.  Before I took my short fiction classes I was too petrified to even let someone read my work not to mention pick it apart.  Of course it hurts when someone attempts to destroy something that is meaningful to you, but it is easy to see someones motives to do so at such an early stage in developing a writing voice.  It's not for everyone but the structure of most writing classes serves a purpose, though they should also provide classes on how to work in the industry rather than assuming everyone with an English degree wants to teach.

Venture Brothers and Orange Ricotta Cupcakes

My husband and I lazily spent New Years Day loafing on the couch and re watching the Venture Bros season 1, which we have both seen so many times we've lost count.  We just got the first half of season 4 on dvd, but I am disappointed we haven't been able to find the second half online. 
I was casually searching through the fridge for dinner and I realized the shelf life of the food we purchased last week was  nearing and end.  Despite my promise to myself to cook healthy I had to satisfy my need to bake.  Baking makes me feel at home.  The act of creating something beautiful, sinful and completely unnecessary warms my wicked heart. :)

I've spent a lot of time researching new recipes online, as well as asking my mother for my old favorites.  Some times the pay off is big, sometimes... its so bad even the husband won't eat it.  Luckily, I have had more success than failure.  This recipe was found on the cooking light/my recipe website.

Orange Marmalade Ricotta Cupcakes

1  (18.25-ounce) package plain white or yellow cake mix*

1  cup  plus 2 tablespoons orange juice, divided

2/3  cup  ricotta cheese

1/3  cup  orange marmalade

1/3  cup  vegetable oil

4  large eggs

1 1/2  teaspoons  orange zest

Makes 20 cupcakes.

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Insert paper liners into 20 muffin cups; set aside.
2. Beat cake mix, 1 cup orange juice, and next 5 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer until combined. Scrape sides of bowl with spatula, and beat at medium speed 2 minutes or until batter is thick and well combined. Spoon about 1/3 cup batter into each liner.
3. Bake at 350° for 18 to 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
4. Brush tops of warm cupcakes evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons orange juice. Let cool in pans on wire racks 5 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.

Marmalade Buttercream Frosting

• 1/2  cup  butter, softened
• 1  tablespoon  orange marmalade
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  orange zest
• 2 1/2  cups  sifted powdered sugar
• 2  to 3 tablespoons orange juice

Beat first 3 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until combined. Gradually add orange juice, beating at medium speed 30 seconds or until frosting is spreadable. Beat at medium-high 30 seconds or until fluffy.

This recipe is amazing!  highly recommend it.  The only difficult part of the whole thing is finding cupcake papers.  For 20 I spent 350 yen on the damn things.  The flavor is great. Not overwhelmingly orange, and I can't even tell there is ricotta involved.  It's just moist, fluffy and amazingly decadent.  The buttercream is perfect, and shockingly not that rich, which is what I like.