THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE

Well... its been a crazy few weeks, but I feel like I've finally caught up with everything I needed to catch up on. We've been trying to enjoy our last few days of non-parenthood by doing the things we enjoy that we won't be able to do for a little while once our daughter gets here.... mainly going out to dinner, going to the movies, and doing little things we think of spontaneously. We've also been doing lots of little things to get our home ready for some serious family time, my favorite of which was planting a garden. The next few projects that I am excited about tackling are building a toy box/bench, really organizing and fine tuning my garage, and making a ham from scratch. I am hoping to have more time for writing and pictures, which I really enjoy. I'm extremely excited by the idea that I've finished pretty much all of my "have to's" and can now move on with my life and start doing a few want to's" again.

WHIRLWIND

Holy Moly have I been busy lately!!! I've knocked quite a few things off my list, but new ones keep cropping up. I haven't had a chance to take any pictures in the chaos, but here's the latest:

We have a painted nursery with a perfect cherry blossom tree on the light green walls, and a beautiful pink dresser that is just perfect.

The doors are attached to the entertainment center, and just need a little paint touch up, but they're finally on and looking pretty decent.

On the down side, my 1999 Nissan Altima blew a head gasket. The shop wanted way more than we were willing to pay to fix it, so I'm attempting the job on my own for a fraction of the price. It has been a bit of a struggle, but I've just about got the head off, and am really looking forward to getting the beast running again so that I can focus on more enjoyable tasks.... I just hope I can put all the hoses and wires back where they came from!!!

Its been a bit crazy, but I'm feeling good and keeping busy, so I really can't complain....

AZUKI YA!

I've been slacking on my blog lately, so.... I just want to say that Japanese bakeries are incredible and that everyone should try going to one.

Their white bread is unlike any white bread I've had. It is yeasty, dense and chewy, but still incredibly fluffy. I used to think that white bread was a waste, but that is all changed now.

You also MUST buy some red bean buns ("Azuki Buns"). They are the most delicious little treat in the whole wide world, especially if you heat them up just a little bit. A red bean bun is basically a slightly sweet bun with a mixture of red beans, sugar, and mochi baked into the middle. They're just sweet enough to be dessert or breakfast, but not sweet enough to be overpowering. Lately, Azuki buns are all I can think about, and I'm pretty sure I'll be attempting to make them some time in the near future....

Oh yeah.... I'm not big on quotes, but I heard one that stuck with me yesterday....
"Ignorance can be cured, but stupidity is for life..."  
I'm not entirely sure why, but I think this is the best quote I've ever heard...

OUR LITTLE 6 POUNDS, 8 OUNCES OF JOY

The realization shocks and apalls me, but, until this past Saturday, I had never even tried to make legitimate ribs in my entire life. Wow. Well, that all changed when we invited my parents over for dinner. We knew we wanted to barbecue something, but when my wife came home from costco with a giant pack of the meatiest baby back ribs I've ever seen, I knew that our ribless little lives had just changed forever...

I chose a three part recipe... rub, mop, and sauce. The rub was mostly new mexico chile powder, salt, paprika, and granulated garlic. The mop was a mixture of melted butter, apple juice, cider vinegar, and barbecue sauce, and the barbecue sauce was made with ketchup, apple juice, vinegar, molasses, and a whole bunch of spices (mostly chile powder and gralic). The part of this whole process that I am most proud of is my improvised rib rack, made by attaching bolts covered in foil to the cooking grate on my weber.

Here are the ribs covered in rub:

And the Mop and Sauce:

Here is a picture of the ribs after smoking over hickory at about 200 degrees for one hour. You can see my sweet new rib rack, and if you look closely, you can see the coal setup... just 15 or so coals, set way off to one side, with a handful of wet woodchips (not scattered, but set down in a heap on top of the coals so that they smolder slowly)... I used two large handfuls throughout the cooking process.... 

And here are our finished little babies after 4 and a half hours in the barbecue.... sooo tasty.......

Here they are again, all cut up and ready for battle. Not a great picture, but you can kind of see the pink smoke ring on them if you look carefully....

These things came out really, really well... but, as always, I need to make a few changes next time:

1) Start the ribs first thing in the morning, and reheat them with the barbecue sauce over hot coals when its time to eat them. They were not at all tough, but they just weren't quite falling off the bone, and I would have liked to cook them longer, but it was time to eat....

2) I thought the ribs were burning because a few spots were looking black, but they were nowhere near overcooked.... A little black is totally fine, as long as it isn't looking like charcoal (especially at the bone tips)....

3) More spicy! The new mexico chile powder really has no kick, even though it was advertised as being between cayenne and paprika. No heat at all, which made me sad inside.

4) Try a milder wood like cherry or pecan. I liked the hickory, but it was much stronger the next day... not a bad thing, but I think a more subtle, slightly sweeter smoke flavor would be a little better...

5) Double the barbecue sauce recipe, and reduce half of it down so that it is thick and goopy. Use the normal, unreduced half to coat the ribs on the grill, and serve up the thickened half on the table for dipping and/or slathering.

BUZZ BEANS

I think caffeine makes me a better person. When I was working in Seattle, my meals were paid for and there was a Tully's one floor below my desk... so, naturally, I drank a little more coffee than usual. I was working longer hours than I normally do, but I was doing things at twice my normal speed, and was feeling pretty okay by the end of most days. When I came home and went back to my usual routine, I felt sluggish and less alert. I go home at night feeling tired and foggy headed.... I've held out at one cup of joe a day for about 5 years now, but I'm seriously considering graduating myself to the next level.

For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to try adding a cup of coffee to the later half of my day, and see if that makes a difference in how I feel. I'm a little bit scared of acclimating myself to higher and higher levels of caffeine addiction, but I'm hoping I'll be able to hold steady at 2 cups a day for at least another 5 years...

This blog is really wearing me down today... I'm gonna go grab a cup of coffee....

FEASTENTINE'S DAY

Well, I'm finally back home! After two weeks of working long hours and going home to an empty hotel room, I can finally get back to living my life. I've been eating at restaurants for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for too long, so my wife and I decided to cook our own special valentine's day feast. It was supposed to just be dinner, but it turned into an entire day of cooking and feasting....

It all started with breakfast. While we cooked, we drank fresh apple watermelon juice with a squeeze of lemon (about 1/3 apple juice to 2/3 watermelon).We made baked egg cups with homemade bacon, thin sliced ham, and spinach, topped off with hollandaise sauce and some finishing salt. Needless to say, these were gone so fast that we didn't get any pictures.

For our next meal, we made some very delicious Manila clams. Again, the excitement over the finished dish did not allow for any photos, but I'm sure you can imagine how delicious it looked. The clams were steamed in a butter, garlic, lemon, and wine sauce, then we added coarse mustard, cream, and a few too many slices of crusty bread. I think this is our new favorite meal of all time.... soooooo good. Lisa even found a tiny purple pearl in one of her clams, so I was let off the hook for not buying her any jewelry this year!! The perfect lunch!

Then the serious cooking started. We made prosciutto chips by baking slices of Parma Prosciutto at 450 for about 20 minutes. These things were like bacon on steroids, and will definitely be added to the repertoire for future meals. Here's a picture of our crispy little heaven chips...

 

We turned our prosciutto chips into four different samples of crostini. My favorite was the semi melted tallegio cheese, topped with chives and a prosciutto chip. The consensus for next time was more prosciutto and a slightly stronger cheese.

And then, there were potatoes.... not just any potatoes either, these puppies were cooked in duck fat. Oh yeah. I got this recipe from the Wrightfood blog, and it is incredible. They were the crispiest, tastiest potatoes I've had in a long time. Just for good measure, we mixed some parsnips and carrots in with the potatoes (which were almost as good as the potatoes themselves), and made some sauce gribiche, which was pretty tasty. To top it all off, it turns out that duck fat is actually less bad for you than butter, so, happy valentine's day to me!

By the time the potatoes were ready, we were pretty tired. We barbecued our dry aged New York steak, seared some scallops in peanut oil on a cast iron skillet, and tucked in to the best meal I've had in weeks. We finished the steak off with garlic butter, and topped each scallop with a different finishing salt. Our unanimous favorite was guava smoked volcanic salt...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

And here is the end result .The only reason there is so much left on the plate is that we ate too much bread with the clams... We had such a good time spending the whole day cooking and tasting together, This was the best Valentine's day EVER! I love you wifey!!

BUILDING, HANGING, AND BLTING

Just a quick update on my progress.... Last night, I managed to get my workbench into position, build a wall board, and hang most of my hand tools. I also installed a fishing pole rack that is nicely holding about 50% of my fishing rods.

Tonight, I'm hoping to finish hanging all my tools, build a shelf for the laundry area, build an overhead lumber rack, and re-wire my table saw for 110 Volts. It's all starting to come together, and I'm beginning to think that I just might make it...

On a side note, my wife made us some homemade bacon BLT's for dinner last night... AMAZING!!! The thickness of the bacon made it really stand out in the sandwich, instead of disappearing into the bread and tomato. Sadly, though, the homemade bacon supply is spent. We have one salty end piece left, which we're planning to use as an ingredient in some sort of soup or stew. I guess I'll need to make a bigger piece next time so that I have more to share...

HARD TIME

Well, it is official... I've been sentenced to two weeks in the chilly northwest, away from my family, and away from all the pressing things that I need to do. The northwest is fairly depressing for me as a general rule, due to the gloomy climate and the circumstances of my visits, but I need to try to be positive.

I'll finally have a chance to catch up on my reading to prepare for our baby that will be here in around three months. Between work, my giant list, and the day to day happenings of life, it is rare that I have the time or energy to sit down and read a technical or dry book. I'll probably need to work weekends and overtime while I'm up there, but there will be no dishes, no laundry, no cooking, and no cleaning. In addition, there will be noone to spend time with, and very little to do.

I plan on seeing the bright side here and using my unwanted liesure time to do something productive. There is lots of research and planning to be done, and I'll finally have some extra time and energy to take it on.

In the meantime, I have four and a half days. I plan on working like a dog as much as possible so that I can cross a few things off my list. My goal is, at a minimum, to have my garage up, running, and ready for action, and to have my house unpacked and organized before I leave......eeesh......

THE LOOMING LIST

We're finally moved into our new apartment! On Sunday, we moved the last of our things into the new house, and now the long process of unpacking, arranging, and re-arranging has begun... the only problem is that time seems to be at a premium these days, and there does not seem to be enough hours in a day to do what needs to be done. Between pregnancy classes, doctor's appointments, and the looming possibility of business travel, I'm finding that it is going to be very difficult to keep up with my growing to do list. Just to keep me focused, and because lists make me feel better, here's what I need to do as of today, in the order it needs to be done...

• Organize the garage. It looks like something exploded in there at the moment. I was able to get the kayaks hung, and the boat positioned last night...but there is still a long way to go. I still need to stow my fishing poles and dive gear, reposition my workbench, and sort and set up my tools.
• Build a shelf above the laundry area for cleaning products. This will get a lot of clutter in the garage organized and put away.
• Paint the new entertainment center doors. The doors are ready for putty, sanding, and paint. I'm considering getting this hvlp spray gun to help with all the painting I'm going to be doing in the coming months. The doors would be a great test.
• Touch up some really horrible patch jobs on the walls inside the house.
• Paint the nursery. We're leaning towards a green color and a nature-like theme....
• Re-wire and tune my "new" old table saw, and make a crosscut sled for it that can also be used to cut 45 degree miters.
• Re-purpose our old entertainment center for baby storage. I need to make/remove several shelves, add some new doors, and paint to go with the nursery. Lots of sanding and painting is going to be required for this one....
• Build a small bookshelf for the nursery.
• Build a toy chest for the nursery.
• Touch up the paint on our night stands and entertainment center. Hopefully, the spray gun will make this quick and easy.
• Paint an end table that needs some re-finishing.
• Build some bookshelves for the house.
• Build a rocking chair.
• Build a new coffee table.
• Build a new kitchen table.

My list is a little bit overwhelming at the moment, but at the same time, I really enjoy having lots of worthwhile projects to work on, which is much more exciting than the alternative. I'm hoping a few solid weekends will put a good dent in this list.

If anyone is looking for me this year, I'll be at work, in the garage, or sleeping.

HOMEMADE BACON

On Saturday morning, I finally completed my first slab of bacon. I lightly smoked the slab with Pecan chips, and recruited some family members to test the bacon with me (and to ensure that I wouldn't die alone if it all went wrong)I have to say, it was wonderful! The bacon was thick, flavorful, and even juicy...You just can't get anything like it in a store, and I'll definitely be making this again.

A few notes for next time...

• I decided not to let the bacon develop a pellicle. Since I didn't use any nitrates, I just couldn't bring myself to leave the meat exposed like that. There was still plenty of smoky flavor for my taste.
• The sides of the bacon slab are extremely salty. Next time, cut 1/4" off each side, and save this saltier portion for use as an ingredient in something like soup. (I was devastated when I first tasted the bacon because it was so salty, but it turned out to be fine as I got away from the exposed edge.
• I ended up smoking the meat on the morning of the 8th day. Next time, I think I should remove the cure on the morning of the 6th day, as the bacon is slightly over salted.
• Since I didn't use any nitrates, I smoked the bacon at about 300F instead of 200F to cut down the cooking time and avoid bacteria growth... I didn't notice any negative effects from doing this...

Here are the pictures... I went a little overboard, but I just can't help myself when it comes to delicious food...

The bacon in its cure... note the amount of liquid in the bag...

The cured, unsmoked slab of bacon...

halfway through smoking...

Internal temperature at 150F...

Mmmmmmmm........

Into the pan....

Into the mouth...

CATS, DOGS, AND HIPPOPOTAMUSSES

I had quite an eventful drive home from work yesterday... Storm drains got blocked during an insane downpour, and the streets turned into rivers. It took me an hour to complete my 15 minute drive home. Thank god I just happened to be driving my dad's truck. My little car would probably have been flooded, but I was able to stay high and dry thanks to the truck.

INTROSPECTION

Now that I've had this blog for a little while, I realized that I wasn't using labels very effectively. I went through and changed all the labels, so now, if you're interested in a certain subject, you can click on it and see all the posts related to that topic. I've condensed everything so down to a pretty manageable list of topics. In doing this, I came across an interesting idea....I can actually track my level of interest in particular activities...

As of now, I used a cooking related label for 60% of my posts. Woodworking and fishing each came in at 5%. I find it fascinating that I can evaluate my interests with such clarity. At this point, I am obviously obsessed with cooking more than anything else, and I am very curious to see what these numbers look like after a full year.

I'm looking forward to using this enhanced vision to see myself with a little more clarity... This kind of information will let me see when I've allowed a hobby to go by the wayside, and either remind me to pick it up again, or bring me to the conclusion that it isn't something I'm really interested in...

MAGIC DISAPPEARING BAGELS

I started a batch of bagels on Thursday evening for breakfast with my family on Sunday morning. I took some pictures of the process, and a few notes for next time...

First, you mix a "sponge" which is basically a runny dough. The sponge is fermented at room temperature for an hour, then refrigerated overnight. (This fermentation is where a lot of the flavor in the dough comes from) The next day, the dough is thickened and kneaded, allowed to rise until doubled, then ripened in the refrigerator for 2 days. Next time, I'd like to add vital wheat gluten to unbleached flour to get a chewier texture. This is the dough before ripening:

The next morning, the bagels are shaped. The dough is fairly sticky, and I found that very cold dough and lightly floured hands were the key. The shaped bagels are placed on floured parchment for 15 minutes to slightly rise...

The bagels are boiled in a large kettle along with some molasses and baking soda. The molasses and baking soda help with the color and shine of the finished bagel. I boiled these for 2 minutes a side. The longer the bagels are boiled, the thicker the outer skin will be. I think a shorter boil time would make a smoother, but less chewy skin, but I like the chewiness....

The boiled bagels are allowed to dry on parchment for a few minutes, then brushed with egg whites and coated in toppings. Next time, less pepper in the everything bagel mix (I used equal parts fennel, sesame, poppy, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper). Also, try dehydrating some jalapenos... Here are the coated bagels, ready to be baked. I made 1/2 salt, and 1/2 everything...

The bagels are baked for around 30 minutes before they disappear.

WAITING ON THE CURE

It has begun! My 2.5 pound black hog belly was fully defrosted on Friday night, so I started the curing process. Here is a picture of the belly before I did anything to it. It is 2" thick, and looks gorgeous. There are a couple rib bones you can see in the back of the picture, but they are small, and I will remove them before I slice the bacon...I haven't decided on the right time yet...

And this is the pork belly, coated in a mixture of equal parts salt and sugar. I heavily coated the meat, then threw a little extra in the bag for good measure.

The pork will sit in its cure for 7 days. I'm flipping it over every day and making sure that the liquid forming in the bag stays in contact with the meat. Next Friday, I'll put the uncovered, rinsed meat on a wire rack in the fridge overnight to form a "pellicle", or sticky coating which will help smoke adhere to the meat. On Saturday morning, I'll fire up the smoker, fulfilling this pork belly's ultimate destiny....

WEEKEND CRAZY

Well....it's official! We picked up the keys to our new homefront yesterday evening. The electricity isn't going to be on until Monday, and it was dark in the house, but it sure felt good to start moving some things in. The garage is enormous and dwarfs the pile of boxes that made my other garage seem cramped and full. The real moving begins today. I'm going to be getting off work early, inspecting the new house by the light of day, and attempting to empty my old garage into my new one. At the same time, I'll be working on my bagel dough for Sunday and finally starting my pork belly on its trip to bacon land.... wish me luck... it's gonna be one crazy weekend!

THE HAPS

We've got a lot going on at the moment, but here are a few headlines....

Our landlord is going to let us move into our new place early, with no extra payments or fees! I couldn't wait to get started, so this is just thrilling for me. We are supposed to get the keys tonight, and I couldn't be more excited! We'll have a full four weeks to get our stuff from one house to the other, and I'm really looking forward to doing this move as easily and gently as possible.

Every now and then, my wife and I like to host a weekend family breakfast at our house. It's a nice way to get family together and a good outlet for some of our baking bugs. This time, it looks like we're doing bagels, and we'll probably serve up some eggs and spinach, benedict style to go with them. I really love making bagels, and will post the process of making them next week sometime. We went and got some dehydrated onion, dehydrated garlic, sesame, fennel and poppy seeds, so now, we can make our two favorites: salt bagels, and everything bagels. I'll be starting the dough tonight for our Sunday morning feast. Very exciting.

Last night, we went to Barnes and Noble and did some book browsing. Lo and behold, they had one copy of the Charcuterie book I've been lusting after! It is incredible. There are recipes for everything from pickles to saurkraut to salami to duck confit to head cheese (ew). I can't wait to try a few of these as soon as I can get my hands on a meat grinder. Mortadella is at the very top of my list, as it has always been one of my favorites (the real Italian stuff....not the cheap bologna kind they sell at Vons). Thanks to a very generous Barnes and Noble gift card, my wife and I left with a nice selection of books that we are both excited about.

We've got a lot going on these days, but I'm feeling more motivated and more excited about the things that are keeping us busy, so it is definitely a good thing...

THE PIGGY IS IN THE NEST

OH YEAH.... The bacon has landed... I repeat... the bacon has landed.

Last night, at 9:30, after a class my wife and I are taking, we went to the Freshia Korean market, and by god, they had the pork belly. They had it in slices, they had it in chunks, they had it in pieces, and they had it whole. It was everywhere, like frozen pizzas at an Albertson's. Amazing. If I ever need an odd cut of meat in the future, I'm heading straight to the Asian markets.

Unfortunately, the meat department manager had gone home for the day, so I couldn't get a custom sized piece off a whole belly (which they DID have in stock), but I did manage to find a 2.5 pound piece of pork that looks gorgeous, for around $3.50 a pound. It is labeled "black hog", is about 5 or 6 inches wide, and is almost a full 2 inches thick... these are going to be some impressive slices of bacon!

Unfortunately, it was frozen, but I think that will be okay, at least for my first attempt. I just couldn't get over how wide and delicious the future bacon slices looked. I was a little disappointed to notice when I got home that it looks like there could be a couple small bones runnning through one part of the meat. I can't really tell until it defrosts, but it looks like it is pretty close to the surface, and should be easy to trim away...

So... my little slice of heaven is hanging out in the fridge for a few days to defrost, and by around Friday afternoon, it should be ready to head down the path of porky greatness. I'll keep you posted on its progress as things get going....

CHARCUTERIE TOMFOOLERY

Oh, brother... I think I have my next obsession brewing, and there's really nothing I can do to stop it... Home Charcuterie.

Home charcuterie is basically the process of making cured meats at home. It all started with the bacon. While I was researching bacon recipes, I kept coming across a book called "Charcuterie: The craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing". I did a little research on the book and its subject, and have been slowly becoming more and more obsessed.

It turns out that bacon, sausage, and even mortadella are at the beginner end of the charcuterie spectrum, while salami, prosciutto, bresaola, and other similar items are on the more advanced end. With the equipment I have right now, I think I can wade into the beginner stuff right away, (the ones that don't require long term dry curing), but the more advanced items are going to take some planning.

The first order of business is to get the bacon made. Once I've got that under my belt, I'm going to need to buy myself the book I mentioned above, along with a meat grinder. From there, I can attempt a few types of sausages, then maybe a mortadella or two.

My real goal is to make salami, bresaola, and prosciuttio, and to do that, I'll need to save up for a small refrigerator, a temperature controller, and a temperature/humidity monitor. The goal is to end up with an environment that is about 50-60 degrees and ~70% humidity. I think the curing box could be put together for about 200 bucks or so. Also, this type of refrigerator would be perfect as a cheese cave, so I could use it to pursue that old dream at some point as well.

I feel like I'm a little nuts because of the way I get into things sometimes, but I'm starting to see a common thread forming... they're all delicious, difficult, and extremely time consuming. The day when I combine my cheesemaking, bread baking, smoking, lobstering, and charcuterie interests into a single meal that I eat on a handmade table, in a hand fitted chair, will probably bring me to tears. I think my subconscious is orchestrating the perfect meal without my knowledge, so I'm just gonna go with it for now and not ask too many questions....

BRINGIN' HOME THE BACON

It turns out that pork belly is kinda hard to find. I visited 3 meat counters, and called about 5 others to no avail. My only option thus far is to special order pork belly from Bristol Farms for about 3 bucks a pound, which isn't bad, considering that good bacon goes for about 7+ bucks a pound. Sadly, my bacon making will have to be put on hold for a while longer. I think I'll place that order tonight, which will put me in bacon land a few weeks later than I expected... I'm hoping the wait will make it that much more delicious when my day of glory finally arrives...

YOUNGS ON THE MOVE

My wife and I have been looking for a new place to live for what seems like an eternity. First, we were trying to buy, but gave that up and decided to rent, thinking that we could find somewhere really great.... neither approach seemed to be working. This weekend, I had the most amazing renting experience of my life. We got in our car and went driving around one of the neighborhoods we wanted to live in (near mercurystate's neck of the woods), and spotted a likely candidate.

We called the landlord to find out that the 2 bed, 2 1/2 bath property was unlocked, so about 2 minutes after we found it, we walked in and checked the place out, and for the first time in this apartment hunting bout, I was not horrified by what we found... in fact, I was thrilled!

To make a long story short, we spotted, applied, and signed a lease for a house to live in, all in the course of about 3 hours. I left my house that morning expecting nothing at all and returned home with a new life ahead of me! I had pretty much given up hope of ever finding what we were looking for, so I really can't describe how wonderful my Saturday was.

Let's just suffice it to say that I now have a two car garage, a gas stove, and a little place to plant some tomatoes... heaven on earth.....