Barbara and the Moosewood Collective.

This is a long one.

With intended homagery to Julie and Julia, the book and the movie. I saw the movie and meant to read the book, and it’ll happen at some point. I also did a variation of this starting from 1998-9. However, instead of doing a recipe everyday, I figured that one recipe from scratch a week was a realistic goal. I also started doing this because I had friends who were extremely good at concocting meals from ingredients at hand. I was not. I was good at baking and some stuff. I got sort of a Mary Tyler Moore complex about cooking for other people and parties. Like too much pressure. However, I think my thought was “I’m like 29; it might be time to figure out how to cook for myself.” I had moved to a new apt, so it seemed like a good time to start something new. I had been to the Moosewood Restaurant up in Ithaca when I was taking a Medieval Latin extensive course at Cornell. Which is another story altogether. I got the Moosewood Cooks at Home cookbook since I figured it was likely probably easier and started going through it, based on mood and ingredients. Keep in mind that my kitchen in my apt wasn’t big. It needed more counter space than it had, but it was a gas stove, which spoiled me for electric cooking. So, I wasn’t doing this in a big kitchen with an island and all of the foodie acoutrement. And I am pretty sure there were kitchen stuff I was missing. I was doing it in a real 20 something kitchen. Some of the things turned out better than others and some I probably wouldn’t make again. The ones that I remember making and working out fairly well:

--Guacamole with Cottage Cheese
--Vegetables in Mint Vinaigrette
--Pad Thai (It worked out okay, but I remember it being messy. Lots of strands of noodles.)
--Fragrant Rice Noodles with Vegetables
--Cauliflower Paprikash with Spaetzle. (Was okay. Not wow.)
--Some of the Quesadillas.
--Udon Noodles and Vegetables that was righteous with cucumber and was what I did when I wanted the Peanut Noodles and couldn’t find it anywhere. At the moment, the only time I buy peanut butter is when I’m making Thai Peanut Stuff.
--Feta Spinach Pizza
--Mushroom and Smoked-Cheese Pizza
--Baked Peaches Marsala
--Coffee Ricotta Mousse. Though it was grainier than I wanted it to be.


Ones that didn’t work were
--The Six Minute Chocolate Cake. Maybe you needed an electric oven.
--the Guacamole with Silken Tofu. Ick.
--The Risottos were okay, but always seemed to mess up my pots.
--The Pancakes were okay, but didn’t work as well either. I think maybe switching pans has helped.

Also, at this time, I had the Sheila Lukins Around the World Cookbook and some recipes for spanikopita. I tried using phyllo dough and I think I overdosed it with olive oil. Was tasty, but messy as hell. I have never used phyllo dough again and I think it’s one of those you have to have more patience than I do. I don’t know if I should keep the Lukins cookbook or not, as it seems to exist in a different cookbook reality than I live in now. And maybe I was also deluding myself then. The Moosewood ones and the Fanny Farmer seem to be friendlier. I also made some kickass Jamaican Banana Bread which has become one of those I always made for potlucks and bring food to your grad. seminar day. I think I also made it for my students in the mystery class during our last day along with the blueberry gingerbread. I usually didn’t do such a thing, but they were a pretty good class and I remember well enough what it’s like being undergrads around the end of the semester. We watched Murder by Death.

The things I learned while doing this is that there are a lot of annoying little ingredients that you need and that you only use so very little of. And a good chunk are expensive. Like Tumeric and of course saffron. I have never used saffron in any of my recipes, because of the price and the little amount needed. Or when, I used currants for a recipe, I think it took forever to use them up. After a certain point, I say screw it. Also, one can’t tell what’s absolutely necessary or just recommended. Like sour milk kind of works as a substitute for buttermilk in the gingerbread recipe, but does it work in all of them? And what do you do with buttermilk besides pancakes, biscuits? Am not going to drink it. I was considering making buttermilk scones with currants, but fear that I would have way too many currants again. Also, no matter how long they say it’s going to take, it’s going to take longer for me to make. Particularly if there is chopping involved. And when there is chopping involved, I like it at the beginning and then about ¾ of the way, I’m done with the chopping, thank you very much.

I also made turkey lasagna at this point and it worked out pretty well. I got tired of it though as it felt like I was eating it for two weeks. I foisted some of it off on Todd who was visiting and liked it.

And I have limitations as a cook and baker. There are things that are too futzy, like lamingtons which involves cake and rolling the cake in chocolate sauce and coconut. I didn’t use wax paper at the time, which I now know to do. I swear the chocolate/coconut mixture hardened like diamonds. And if I’m making cupcakes, I usually figure I’ll do either the cake from scratch or the frosting from scratch, not both. Doing both is too much.

I went through most of the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home and Moosewood Low-fat Cookbook, though not all of them. Some of them I figured I wasn’t ever going to make, like some of the dressings, sauces and stuff involving tabouleh or barley or other weird stuff like that. I still have that belief with other cookbooks I have. I don’t cook as much as I would like to. The joys and sorrows of grad. school and work. And I can’t cook all the time. I fortunately or unfortunately keep collecting recipes I think are intriguing and hope to get to someday. And I fear some of them are the same ones, like guacamole, and variations on gingerbread. And then there are ones I’m pretty sure am never going to make, but look good, like the one with fennel confit. I went through some of Martha Stewart Living and Body and Soul and clipped out ones I was curious about. I keep wanting to make trifle, but it always seem just too timeconsuming enough and I have no good reason to make it. Half of me knows that I would just like someone to make some of the recipes for me more than I want to make it myself.

Recently, I made Chicken with Mushrooms and Riesling with Noodles and Green Beans. I was listening to Deutsches Pop like Falco and Alphaville. Perhaps not pretty and my first attempt to cook with wine. Probably would get better upon repetition. Was fun. Was like my mood cooking. Or like when I want to eat Chinese food when watching Joy Luck Club and want Southern food when watching Fried Green Tomatoes. I have made chicken with dumplings. I think I brought some to Steph.

I also clipped out wienerschnitzel and spaetzle recipes, because it’s Octoberfest. Know that I wouldn’t likely get veal, though pork could work as an equivalent. I remember loving it in Germany.

The AZ Republic was talking about how German food was complicated to cook at home. I take issue with that some. It usually involves breading and meat and such. It’s not like it’s French food with timing and everything. Like Cassoulet seems like a casserole with airs. I made sauerbraten in my late high school years/early college years and while I can’t claim it was the piece de resistance (sp?) it was good enough.

One of the ones that I think I neglected amidst the cookery and bakery was learning how to make drinks of the martini kind. Have martini glasses, though no set. Haven’t used them. I remember being amused about seeing vodka and tonic mix at the liquor store. Vodka or gin and tonics are one of the first things I learned how to make. It’s the liquor, tonic water and lime. Oh well. I don’t suppose it’s all that tragic. It’s one of those I “think that you might learn if you were part of a couple” or not. Though, I still want a mojito. Seems like a Latin-based mint julep.