Happy Friday, all! We're headed into another weekend, so hopefully you've got a relaxing weekend planned. Kathleen has sent in a cute email fully of good stuff, so enjoy!
Have a good weekend. Cook something good, willya?
Here's a shot of a dish I made Julie for Valentine's Day that I'm finally finding the time to post. One of the reasons I'm doing the site update is that it gives me room for bigger pictures, so I'm looking forward to that.
Mafalda, in case you don't know, is a skinny version of a lasagna noodle with curled sides. It's a great choice for cream sauces because it catches just the right amount of sauce.
I served this with some steamed crab legs with some Survival Butter, plus the heart shaped cookie I baked from a handmade mold from aluminum foil.
It's nice to be posting again, sort of. I'm just ignoring all the bugs for now, and I'll knock them off one by one in the coming week or two.
It's been fairly nightmarish trying to get the update done, primarily because the old blog was built on a really early version of software, and there is all sorts of arcane code in there that needs weeded out. It's taken me less than two days recently to build one from the ground up, I guess it's like the difference between new construction and remodeling- you never know what you're going to get into until you start.
I've also been really busy with the real world, which hasn't helped with being able to focus on this, either. Apologies for all the cyber-dust on the floor, but I think the trend is up from here! (I hope.)
Still time to take advantage of two for one Survival Spice®!
Happy Weekend, everybody! I've hit a few snags in the redesign, but I'm working through them, so hang in there.
Janella has sent in a great Funny, thanks ma'am!!! Enjoy your weekend, remember the two for one Survival Spice® is on until the end of the month.
We have a major design of the Desert Island Foods site, along with TPC coming over the next few weeks, so it's going to be a bumpy ride for a while. Hang in there, I have the back end software for the new blog loaded already, which will have more groovy features to play with.
Happy Valentine's Day!
This isn't the most appropriate joke the day before Valentine's Day, but it's funny, I think. Thanks again to KC for yukking it up for us.
Have a great weekend! Cook something special this weekend, and email me a few pictures to show it off.
If you don't get the DIF newsletter, you're missing out on some great deals! Our two for one Survival Spice® has been extended until Feb. 28th, thanks to a Steelers win.
What a game! The newsletter is below the fold, email me if you'd like to be added to the mailing list.
It was Curry Night at the Pragmatic Manor again, and this week was veggie only- just eggplant, cauliflower and onions in a hot curry/tomato sauce with some basmati rice, garnished with a bit of cilantro and some toasted sesame seeds.
As the sun was setting I got the idea to take a shot of what's become a staple dish around here with a different backdrop. We have quite a few of the bushes around our place, but I have no idea what they are. Sure are purty this time of year, though. I wish the sun would have been a bit stronger once I got out there, but it ducked behind the clouds. You get the idea, I'm sure.
Here's the hot curry paste I've been using in these dishes. I've tried their Korma and their Tikka Masala and they're really good. I'm also looking forward to checking out their vindaloo paste, but so far this is my favorite:
While going through the pantry the other day I saw our bread maker gathering dust in the corner. I've had it for years, but hadn't seen it since I moved to Phoenix over 5 years ago. A bread maker is that sort of gadget that rarely pays for itself for most people, I think, so when I first bought it I put a Post-it note on top so I could keep track of how many loaves I had made.
The Post-it is long gone, but I actually think I recouped my investment. It does a decent job, really, though I wish I had gotten the bigger model. Since I've had it out I've gotten away from the recipes that came with the machine, and I've been fooling around with my own.
Here's the recipe for the loaf in the picture:
1 1/2 C white bread flour
5/8 C wheat flour
3 T Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Olive
2t kosher salt
1 1/2t dry yeast.
That's it. Simple, but it makes a really good loaf, and I think the oil keeps it from getting stale too quickly. I keep it in the fridge in a one gallon Ziplock bag.
I'm a sucker for freshly baked bread. Where's the jam?
Nuts. I didn't publish this on Friday, but I think you need a laugh on Mondays more than Fridays anyway!!!
Thanks to KC for the funny.
Man, I love living in Arizona.
Just being able to walk into my nearest grocery store and see bags of freshly roasted Hatch chiles just makes me smile. Taking a bag home and using them on everything from fish sandwiches, egg dishes, and this pizza. Just peel whatever skin is remaining, chop or slice and toss 'em in.
I really need to do some kind of pork dish with these. Which makes me smile, too.
Just click and marvel already. I'll wait.
