New Home for My Adventures

Although Blogspot has been very good to me, I have been a bit frustrated with the lack of customization when it comes to my design layout. Looking at other blogs that I admire, I noticed a common theme: they all used WordPress. So, in a very bold move, I have moved my beloved blog over to WordPress also. Usually I would simply add a link in the text to direct you to a site. However, because moving a blog site is a big step, I want to make sure those who read my blog on blogspot know how to get to my new blog site. So without further ado (and with the obligatory triumphant horns in the background), I present my new blog address:

http://adventuresinshaw.wordpress.com/

For those fellow bloggers who have been kind enough to place a link to my site on their own, much, much love (and also please update my link...smiles). All of my new blog entries will be at my new site, so this site will only serve as a bit of a redirection guide. Hopefully this move is met with cheers and not jeers. But either way, I hope you all follow me to my new home!

P.S.

The title to this entry also serves as a link to my new blog home. Just trying to make it easy for you guys!

Lovely, Lovely Sam'ich!!

This morning I got up with the idea I would run along Hains Point for a change of pace. I usually run around the National Mall, but since it was such a lovely day, I figured why not a different path? It took me a bit to actually reach Hains Point and once I did, I realized I had made a grave mistake. As City Girl DC blogged about a week ago, there were strollers and confused tourists EVERYWHERE! It was like an obstacle course, but Mark Summers wasn't there to Double Dare me. To add insult to injury, my allergies immediately started acting up, so my breathing became very labored. Add it all up and I only got in an almost 2 mile run.



The entire way back home, I kept thinking about the wonderful ingredients I got yesterday from the farmer's market and what I was going to do with them. And I came up with the idea of using some leftover parsley pesto I made last week as a base for a great Spring sandwich. Using the bread I got from the market, along with some fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, I created the work of art pictured above. Bonus points: the sandwich was light enough to leave plenty of space for a Ben's Chili Half-Smoke tonight at the game! Mmmmmmm, chili dog.

Spring's Oh So Delicious Bounty

As if the wonderful flowers and less than arctic chill in the air weren't enough indication of Spring, last week marked the first official week of the full growing season for many farmer's markets throughout the DC area. And to say I was excited is an understatement. Anyone who knows me is aware of my almost obsessive love for fresh produce. I get as giddy as a school girl when I am presented with the opportunity to peruse aisle after aisle of various fruits, veggies, herbs and the like. So this past winter was a bit hard for me (really, how many ways can I cook potatoes?).

All of this was forgotten when I headed over to the Penn Quarter FreshFarm Market on my lunch break with my friend James. Because I also frequent the Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market, I was familiar with several of the vendors. I happily bought some sinfully aromatic basil from Endless Summer Harvest (I always buy tomatoes, peppers and squash from them when they are in season), which I will be using in the next few days for a basil cream pesto sauce and a great basil, roasted garlic and tomato hearth bread (stay tuned...). Over at Togio Orchards I got some nice cherry tomatoes, which I have already used some of in a great mesculin mix I got from Sunnyside Organic. Also at Sunnyside I found very colorful rainbow chard that even James admitted was beautiful.



And finally (and definitely not least), I stumbled upon carb heaven: The Ovens at Quail Creek Farms. Not only did they have very tasty loaves of bread (I got a multi-grain that I can verify is nut-erific...yup, it was so good I had to make up a word), they had divine croissants, muffins, cookies and (wait for it) hazelnut fuckin' brownies! I resisted the temptation to buy the brownies, but did give into the croissants. They will make for great breakfasts this weekend...or maybe a good croissant chocolate pudding (an idea I have been mulling in my brain since trying a similar dish at Fado this past winter...it's no longer on their menu, so don't go lookin' for it). Either way, I already ate one of these flaky gems with Nutella for dessert tonight. I was too lazy to make chocolate brownies, so I improvised...with lip smackin' results!



You may ask why I hit the farmer's market when I belong to a great CSA. Both myself and my friend Greyhound Celebrity (whom I split a share with from Star Hollow Farm) will be out of town for most of the upcoming week, so we decided not to get a share this weekend. But I wanted to do a bit of cooking for the few days I will be in town before heading to New Orleans for a conference (I know, I know I have such a hard job). So this weekend will be spent in the kitchen when I'm not cheering on my beloved Braves at the new Nationals Park or going for my runs around the Tidal Basin. So all these ingredients you see now will soon turn into wonderful dishes I will happily share in upcoming blogs! Oh and I will be taking my trusty Canon with me to NOLA (my friend Daphne's nickname), so stay tuned for tales of amazing food, wonderful music and gorgeous architecture!

Southern Comfort

I woke up on Saturday morning feeling a bit homesick...possibly because I'm used to having family around on my birthday. Either way, I wanted to feel closer to home and nothing says the South like buttermilk biscuits. I happened to have some buttermilk left over from my adventures in Red Velvet Cupcakes, so I didn't have to schlep out to the grocery store to fulfill my Southern fix.

The thing about buttermilk biscuits is they're deceptively easy to make. A lot of people are afraid to try their hand at them because they've had dry or flavorless biscuits more times than Paris Hilton has been tested for an STD. But here's a little secret: good buttermilk biscuits require only seven ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your kitchen.

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
4 Tablespoons Shortening (can substitute cold butter instead), cut into squares
1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Grease a round 9 inch cake pan and set it aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. In a food processor, combine the sifted dry ingredients and the shortening, evenly distributing the cubes of shortening amongst the flour mixture. Pulse the ingredients repeatedly until they form a dry crumble consistency. Slowly pour the buttermilk into the food processor and resume pulsing until a soft, wet dough is formed. Gently scrape out the dough into a nonstick bowl.



This is where you get to have fun: flour your hands thoroughly, pinch off some dough and form it into a ball. Pat down the ball to form a biscuit shaped disc and place it in the cake pan. Repeat this for the rest of the dough, trying to keep each biscuit relatively the same size. Make sure to flour up your hands well before forming each one. Brush the tops of each biscuit with the melted butter carefully. Bake in the oven for 12-17 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and place a plate over it. Flip the pan upside down, holding the plate securely to the pan. The biscuits should come out and onto the plate easily. Gently rip each biscuit away from the others, slather it with butter or jam (or both!) and enjoy. Preferably with a breakfast meat of some kind: you can't have a good Southern breakfast without a dead animal on the plate!

Push It To The Limit...

On March 30, 2008, I got up at the most unpleasant hour of 6:30 am to run...outside...in the cold. The Fourth Annual Scope It Out 5k (rather unfortunate name for a colon cancer benefit race, I know) was my very first competitive race and was the embodiment of how far I had come fitness wise. Four years ago, I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded. So to dare to run a 5k was a huge deal for me. When I arrived at the course, I saw a huge inflatable colon that you could walk through and immediately started laughing. I am all about colon cancer prevention and awareness (had my sister not gotten a colonoscopy early, her cancer may not have been treatable), but a balloon colon was too much for me at that ungodly hour.

This being my first race, I was unsure how other, more experienced runners would treat the novice runners. But I had nothing to worry about as everyone was very nice and encouraging when they learned it was my first race. And it never hurts to see so many cute boys in running shorts. But it was f%#&^cking cold and I was still very tired, so honestly the last thing on my mind was flirting...it was making sure I didn't pass out during the run and get trampled on by the other participants. I ran with the 10:00 minute mile pace group and started off slow. All along the course were volunteers providing water and giving encouragement. I must give these people a huge hand because their cheering and smiling faces really kept me going. I made it to the 2 mile mark without a problem, but started to get a little weary around 2.5 miles. But when I rounded the corner and could see the finish line in sight, a huge rush of adrenaline overcame me and I sailed my way to the finish. Even better, my friend James was on the sidelines near the finish line, shouting my name, giving me the last bit of encouragement I needed. And as hokey as it may sound, tears welled up in my eyes as I ran across the finish line. To actually finish this race was a huge accomplishment for me...and for the person I have become.

Note: pictures from http://www.runwashington.com/news/mar08scopeitoutrpt.html.

This Just Proves It....

A man will have sex with anything....There's not much else to add to this story. Just read it and weep...seriously, all you can do is laugh so hard you cry.

Ode to Joy

Still being a relatively new blogger on the block, I look to other sites for inspiration. One site I visit regularly is Joy the Baker, the blog of a fantastic California baker. Not only are her recipes fantastic (I've made several of her creations with delicious results), her photographs are mouth watering. And to top it off, she frequently posts about my favorite dessert: Red Velvet cupcakes. In the South, Red Velvet isn't just a cake, it's a religion. And since moving to DC, I've had a hard time finding a cake worthy of being called Red Velvet. A few weeks ago, Joy posted the recipe for Red Velvet Whopper Cupcakes and I was a goner. From the first look at Joy's pictures, I knew I had to make them.

I would never think to fiddle with the recipe of a daring baker, but Joy's recipe didn't include the one thing most Southern red velvet cupcakes require: shaved bittersweet chocolate. Tossed into the batter along with the flour mixture, four ounces of chocolate shavings make a huge difference in red velvet cakes. I like to think the shavings melt during the baking, giving the batter that extra bit of moistness. Either way, all you need to do is grate 4 ounces of a bittersweet chocolate bar and add it to the batter along with the flour mixture (see Joy's recipe, linked above).



And as you may notice, I didn't use the traditional cream cheese frosting for my cupcakes. My little twist: chocolate cream cheese frosting. To make, simply cream together 8 ounces of cream cheese and one stick of unsalted butter (both at room temperature) with a stand mixer. Then add a 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and four cups of sifted powdered sugar. Be careful to add the sugar slowly, especially if you have a lower powered stand mixer. Since the frosting recipe is easy to make, don't start it until the cupcakes are cool and ready to be frosted.

Although I may have tweaked Joy's original recipe, I did so only with the utmost of respect. And if I do say so myself, the results were unbelievably delicious! In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, "Mmmmmm....cupcakes".