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DBF and I joined a CSA earlier in the year. We’re going to reserve judgment on whether this was a good move at the end of the season, but so far, it sort of sucks getting the same veggies week after week.

Last night, I endeavored to use over 1 1/2 lbs. of beets in one dish. But it was already past 8:30 when I started this project, so I didn’t want anything that required roasting the beets beforehand, and used things that I already had (which is very little. The ‘frige is very bare except for a fully stocked crisper bin.). So I settled on a “Beet Rosti” recipe in How to Cook Everything, ostensibly a recipe from Michael Romano. I subbed fresh rosemary for parmesan, because I had no fresh rosemary, and Bittman says you can do this as an alternative. The pancake form did not hold together because the nonstick coating on my nonstick pan doesn’t actually work any more.

But it’s great! It’s pretty cheesy, which nicely balances the sweetness of the beets.

Now on to the turnips and radishes…

Perrin and I made these one afternoon with some cocoa nibs he had leftover. (Who has leftover cocoa nibs? Perrin.) They’re so good, and indescribably chocolate-y without being too sweet or bitter. Which is wonderful.

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 c. cocoa nibs
1 c. finely chopped walnuts
1 c. currants or raisins

Mix the four and baking soda together thoroughly. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, sugars, and salt. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture just until all the dry ingredients are moistened, then stir in the nibs, nuts, and currants. If possible, cover and chill the dough for at least 2 hours, preferably over night.

Position the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator to soften.

Scoop up level tablespoons full of dough and place them 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake, rotating the cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through the baking time, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown at the edges and no longer look wet on top.

Use a metal pancake turner to transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely. The cookies keep, in a tightly sealed container, for several days.

Taken from Bittersweet by Alice Miedrich.

They’re also great if you freeze the pre-measured cookie dough and bake later.

After President Obama personally apologized for the vetting snafus that brought down two nominations to his cabinet, Balkinization puts it in perspective:

The Catholic Church, courtesy of Pope Benedict XVI, is currently facing facing “an internal and external political crisis,” according to the New York Times. The reason is simple: The German-born and -raised former Joseph Ratzinger has welcomed back into full communion within the Church an excommunicated priest who had not only rejected the reforms of Vatican II, but also denies the existence of the Holocaust. The Vatican has released a statement stating that the views of Richard Williamson were “unknown to the Holy Father at the time he revoked the excommunication.” One may or may not choose to believe this. If it is true, it suggests a failure on the part of Vatican “vetters” that makes any of the Obama team’s mistakes small beer indeed. (emphasis mine)

Tax mistakes v. being a Holocaust denier. I think we have a winner!

I used to hate brussel sprouts. But then someone, I wish I could remember who (and thank them), once chided me to try some in a restaurant. It was a revelation. What I’ve always hated about brussel sprouts is that bitter taste, and restaurant brussel sprouts always lack that. I remarked this at a “business lunch” in San Francisco with my boss’s boss once, and she gave me this recipe:

Makes 10-12 servings.

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into thin slivers
2 lbs. brussel sprouts, trimmed, shredded, cut into thin slices
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. heavy or whipping cream
1 c. light cream
1/4 c. sweet marsala
1 tsp. grated nutmeg
1 1/2 C. freshly grated parmesan
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the butter in large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and prosciutto to cook, tossing with a spoon for 4 minutes.
3. Add brussel sprouts and continue to cook, tossing constantly for another 4 minutes.
4. Stir in flour, coating brussel sprouts.
5. Gradually stir in the heavy cream, light cream and marsala. Reduce the heat and simmer until brussel sprouts are just barely tender, about 5 minutes. Add nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Stir in 1 c. of parmesan and cook just until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.

(You can prepare the dish to this point the day before you are serving and refrigerate, covered, overnight.)

7. Bring the gratin to room temperature before baking.
8.Transfer the mixture to a shallow 9″ square baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 c. parmesan, bake until bubbly and the top is slightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Taken from The Nantucket Open House Cookbook by Sarah Leah Chase.

Now, whenever I see brussel sprouts on a restaurant menu, I order them. And this recipe is delicious, so whenever they’re in season, I’ll make this.

Perrin says this is super-easy and fool-proof. As I am a fool with pie crusts, it’s right up my alley:

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour

Mix butter, sugar, salt and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add flour to mix just until well blended. Press dough thinly and evenly into tart pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 large bag frozen chopped broccoli

2 large cartons small curd plain cottage cheese

1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

6 eggs, beaten (I love eggs, so I use 8 to even out the egg-to-cottage cheese ratio)

6 tbsp. whole-wheat flour

Mix all ingredients in a deep, oven-proof baking dish, bake in oven @ 350 degrees for 60-75 min. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Alternately, you can bake in individual ramekins—adjust baking time down and check frequently.

The other day I was telling DBF that even though we’ve been our new apartment for a full month now, I still don’t really feel like I live here. I feel like I have to go back to the old 806 apartment still. It’s an odd feeling. It’s not like I feel when I’m in a hotel, and I feel slightly disoriented every time I walk in the door; it’s more subtle.

I can’t put my finger on why this is. Maybe it’s because we still have some boxes that aren’t totally unpacked. We’re about 85 percent unpacked, but a mixture of forces have prevented us from unpacking the rest. These forces mostly include waiting for the building storage unit to open up so we can stick all the stuff we had in storage into this storage. (I know it’s not good to squirrel away stuff just for the sake of keeping it, and I did throw out a good amount of stuff before we moved, but it’s hard. Dear God, it’s hard.) We’re also just holding off on purchasing the last few items of furniture. The big one still remaining is getting something to store all of my bags in (yes, I have that many). And shoes. Uh. Love having so many; hate having to store all of it. Shoes, shoes, shoes.

Shoes, shoes, shoes.

Ever since I was little, I’ve been afraid of sewing machines. Mom would occasionally whip her monster machine out and hem a pant or something, but she always approached sewing the way she’s approached cooking: knows how to do it, but would rather not.

The reason the sewing machine always scared me is that I’ve always pictured that ginormous needle going RIGHT THROUGH MY FINGER. I didn’t know that there’s a guard that prevents exactly that from happening. So I’ve always been a bit afraid of them.

But now, I’m ashamed to admit, TV has spurred me into action. See, I love Project Runway, and I finally stopped thinking, “If these idiots can sew, then I can too!” and did something about it. Last weekend, I took a sewing class at Home Ec. We learned the basics of sewing by sewing a bag. It took about three hours, and I came away from the class without any injuries. I think if I can learn to hem my own pants successfully, and even make some basic pieces of clothing, and perhaps a superhero cape for George, it will have been a $95 well spent.

I’m now looking for other easy projects to do; a duvet cover seems like a good idea. A coworker confirmed that a duvet cover really is as easy as sewing two sheets together and sticking on some buttons. And during a stroll in the new neighborhood yesterday, I realized that I’m in what seems to be Brooklyn’s garment district: there’s TONS of fabric stores on Coney Island Avenue!

So now I’m just looking for opportunities to use sewing machines more. I’m going to the Etsy Labs today to see if I can work on something without embarrassing myself.

From the ACLU’s blog:

CIA lawyer Jonathan Fredman argues that the laws against torture are malleable. He encourages his colleagues to exploit any vagueness in the law and declares torture “is basically subject to perception. If the detainee dies, you’re doing it wrong.

Last night as I was watching another Law & Order rerun on the Tivo, Gracie sat on my lap and was fastidiously grooming away. For the longest time, we’ve been trying to get her to take this lysine supplement paste that might help with her respiratory problems. But the hurdle has always been that she won’t eat it. We drop it in her food bowl, and she eats around it. She spits it out when we try to put it directly her in her mouth. The vet told me this wouldn’t be a problem. “It’s meat-flavored,” he told me. “Cats like it.”

Well, not this cat. But then it dawned on me as I watched her lick her leg over and over and over again: I walked over to her with paste, put a dab on my finger, and then smeared it right onto her leg. She first gave me a “WTF??” look, but then she promptly licked it up, nice and clean.

I’m a genius! (It’s too bad we can’t make her take pills this way!)