This is where I am most of the time, on the outside of life, watching it go past and wondering what it's all about. I have always been an observer, and a recorder of observations. It's not really something I chose; it's a part of my nature.
Have you ever had the most intense realization about the most mundane things? Thinks like: I'm eating pizza that I made myself. I have been overwhelmed by such realizations. On some level, of course I understood not only that there was pizza, but that I'd made it and that I was now eating it. It's not as though I'd somehow failed to grasp this concept entirely. It's just that for a split second I was somehow aware of how incredible it is that a universe where pizza is possible even exists, and I was in awe. I somehow switched from 'participant' to 'observer' in my own life.
Or perhaps it was the other way around, or both at once. Perhaps I went from going through the motions to being acutely aware of my own participation in life. Whatever it was, I found myself looking at that pizza as though it held all the answers to life, the universe and everything (which is ridiculous since it didn't look a thing like 42.)
The pizza isn't the point. The point is that there is something in my nature that allows me to shift perspective at the drop of a hat. Life is constantly a case of looking at a vase and suddenly seeing two faces, and I think this is why I write. Scratch that. I don't 'think', I know. I write because no matter how much I find myself on the outside of life looking in, what I see is so fascinating that I must find some way of capturing it, recording it in such a way that I might be able to share at least a fraction of it. I write because the only other option is to sit here watching the world go by.
Do you ever have moments like this? Do you find yourself on the outside looking in? Alternately, why do you write?
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Shameless Self-Promotion
I'll admit that I'm not a fan of pimping myself, but to make it in this industry it's something I have to get used to doing. And right now, pimping myself is exactly what I need to do.
I'm not going to lie; I'm looking at some hard times here. I'm about to lose my job and though I'm searching for freelance work, it's not something I can rely on, at least not yet. My savings won't save me, and there's only so long I can keep the student loans folks away. And so, I come asking for help.
However! I'm not looking to get something for nothing. Life doesn't work that way and I don't expect it to. Now in my former life I wasn't a writer, but an artist! Well, I still am an artist though my focus has shifted. So, in return for your kind help, I'll draw you a picture of anything you want. Seriously. Anything. Ink on Bristol plate, 9"x12" (or 12"x9" if you prefer)... that's starting to sound pretty nice, isn't it? Of course it is! And we're talking full colour illustrations here, HD even.
I also have seven gorgeous pairs of earrings for sale. Each pair is unique, hand-crafted from sterling silver and coloured glass beads. Look at them and tell me you don't want some for yourself. Or if not for yourself, than for that stylish someone you know who will really love them.
Do you see something else on the site that you absolutely must have? Shoot me an e-mail and we'll talk: eric.satchwill@gmail.com .
Please, check it out. Treat yourself to something shiny and tell all your friends where you got it, and you'll make me a very happy man.
I'm not going to lie; I'm looking at some hard times here. I'm about to lose my job and though I'm searching for freelance work, it's not something I can rely on, at least not yet. My savings won't save me, and there's only so long I can keep the student loans folks away. And so, I come asking for help.
However! I'm not looking to get something for nothing. Life doesn't work that way and I don't expect it to. Now in my former life I wasn't a writer, but an artist! Well, I still am an artist though my focus has shifted. So, in return for your kind help, I'll draw you a picture of anything you want. Seriously. Anything. Ink on Bristol plate, 9"x12" (or 12"x9" if you prefer)... that's starting to sound pretty nice, isn't it? Of course it is! And we're talking full colour illustrations here, HD even.
I also have seven gorgeous pairs of earrings for sale. Each pair is unique, hand-crafted from sterling silver and coloured glass beads. Look at them and tell me you don't want some for yourself. Or if not for yourself, than for that stylish someone you know who will really love them.
Do you see something else on the site that you absolutely must have? Shoot me an e-mail and we'll talk: eric.satchwill@gmail.com .
Please, check it out. Treat yourself to something shiny and tell all your friends where you got it, and you'll make me a very happy man.
Friday, 28 January 2011
Because You Could Live Off Borscht
I really do think that, with this recipe at least, one could live off Borscht for quite a long time. It has all the protein, fat, fibre and vitamins a body could need! Ok, don't quote me on that. I have only a vague idea of what constitutes a balanced, nutritious diet, but I still think that if all you had to eat was this Borscht, you'd be doing pretty well.
Now, unlike the previous recipes I've put up here in some premature, experimental state, this one is tried, tested and true. Seriously, I eat this all the time and I've yet to get sick of it. It also changes a bit each time I make it, based on what I have or what I forgot, so you get more of a general guide line than a proper recipe. But that's ok. Vague recipes are a Mennonite tradition, and this one comes down the line from the Mennonite side of my family. And again, mine is probably a little different than my mom's, and hers is different from my grandma's.
I start by making a nice beef stock by boiling soup bones in a big pot of water. And I mean a big pot, not the sauce pan that you can get away with for a pack of KD or a can of soup. Look for soup bones that have some meat on them; you'll want to add that meat later. The process here is pretty simple. Put soup bones in the pot, fill at least half-way with water, set it to boil, and simmer with the lid on for a few hours or "until ready."
Now you take it off the heat, remove the soup bones and set them aside. If you've got time to let the broth sit and cool for a while, do that. Even better if you can leave it in the fridge over night, as that makes it particularly easy to skim the fat off the top(seriously, when chilled in the fridge, I can just grab the solid chunks off the top with a pair of tongs.) Otherwise, use a spoon to skim off the fat and put it in whatever grease collecting container you use for disposal or whatever. I mean, if you want you can always make soap out of it later.
Once you have your broth, put about five to eight(or, you know, however many you like) black peppercorns and a bay leaf in a spice ball and drop it in, adding a generous sprinkling of dill to the broth while you're at it. Start it a-boiling and a-simmering again while you chop and add your vegetables.
My understanding of Borscht is that it must contain cabbage and beets, but what do I know? Mine typically contains cabbage, beets, onion, carrot, rutabaga, potato and a can of diced tomatoes. About half the time I forget the tomatoes and/or the potato, but the rest is there for sure. The rutabaga is my own addition to the recipe for the simple reason that I like rutabaga. Yummy rutabaga... What? Right. Anyway. You can pretty much use whatever combination of root vegetables you like or have on hand. Chop up a good amount of each (I'm talking like, one large carrot, one russet potato, half a large rutabaga etc.) into bite-size pieces. Add each vegetable as you chop it, giving it a stir as you do. Add the can of tomatoes(if you haven't done like I did and forgot it.)
While that's simmering away, take the soup bones you set aside earlier and remove the meat. Do this however works best for you; use a knife, your bare hands, a combination thereof, whatever. Your goal is to separate the good meat from the bone, fat and other gristle. Add the meat to the Borscht and let that simmer a little bit longer, giving an occasional stir when you check on it.
You can always add some water at any point if the level has gotten too low. Any excess liquid will boil off, and you really can't kill this.
Serve hot. I always have a bowl or two right when I finish and before I store the rest.
For storage, I usually freeze mine in 1L mason jars, but you can use whatever works best for you. If you do like I do, you've got to do it carefully. Freezer plus glass equals glass shards if it isn't done properly, something I sacrificed four jars to find out. The fact that I still ate those batches is entirely beside the point...
The first rule is to never go quickly from hot to cold. Let the Borscht cool at least to room temperature, or let it chill in the fridge first. The second rule is to leave about an inch of space at the top, and don't seal it completely right away. You want to give the Borscht space to expand as it freezes. You can always screw the tops down properly the next day.
Now, after what you just ate, you probably have a good three litres of Borscht that will keep for however long you need. Sometimes mine makes it a full two week before it disappears.
Share and enjoy!
Now, unlike the previous recipes I've put up here in some premature, experimental state, this one is tried, tested and true. Seriously, I eat this all the time and I've yet to get sick of it. It also changes a bit each time I make it, based on what I have or what I forgot, so you get more of a general guide line than a proper recipe. But that's ok. Vague recipes are a Mennonite tradition, and this one comes down the line from the Mennonite side of my family. And again, mine is probably a little different than my mom's, and hers is different from my grandma's.
I start by making a nice beef stock by boiling soup bones in a big pot of water. And I mean a big pot, not the sauce pan that you can get away with for a pack of KD or a can of soup. Look for soup bones that have some meat on them; you'll want to add that meat later. The process here is pretty simple. Put soup bones in the pot, fill at least half-way with water, set it to boil, and simmer with the lid on for a few hours or "until ready."
Now you take it off the heat, remove the soup bones and set them aside. If you've got time to let the broth sit and cool for a while, do that. Even better if you can leave it in the fridge over night, as that makes it particularly easy to skim the fat off the top(seriously, when chilled in the fridge, I can just grab the solid chunks off the top with a pair of tongs.) Otherwise, use a spoon to skim off the fat and put it in whatever grease collecting container you use for disposal or whatever. I mean, if you want you can always make soap out of it later.
Once you have your broth, put about five to eight(or, you know, however many you like) black peppercorns and a bay leaf in a spice ball and drop it in, adding a generous sprinkling of dill to the broth while you're at it. Start it a-boiling and a-simmering again while you chop and add your vegetables.
My understanding of Borscht is that it must contain cabbage and beets, but what do I know? Mine typically contains cabbage, beets, onion, carrot, rutabaga, potato and a can of diced tomatoes. About half the time I forget the tomatoes and/or the potato, but the rest is there for sure. The rutabaga is my own addition to the recipe for the simple reason that I like rutabaga. Yummy rutabaga... What? Right. Anyway. You can pretty much use whatever combination of root vegetables you like or have on hand. Chop up a good amount of each (I'm talking like, one large carrot, one russet potato, half a large rutabaga etc.) into bite-size pieces. Add each vegetable as you chop it, giving it a stir as you do. Add the can of tomatoes(if you haven't done like I did and forgot it.)
While that's simmering away, take the soup bones you set aside earlier and remove the meat. Do this however works best for you; use a knife, your bare hands, a combination thereof, whatever. Your goal is to separate the good meat from the bone, fat and other gristle. Add the meat to the Borscht and let that simmer a little bit longer, giving an occasional stir when you check on it.
You can always add some water at any point if the level has gotten too low. Any excess liquid will boil off, and you really can't kill this.
Serve hot. I always have a bowl or two right when I finish and before I store the rest.
For storage, I usually freeze mine in 1L mason jars, but you can use whatever works best for you. If you do like I do, you've got to do it carefully. Freezer plus glass equals glass shards if it isn't done properly, something I sacrificed four jars to find out. The fact that I still ate those batches is entirely beside the point...
The first rule is to never go quickly from hot to cold. Let the Borscht cool at least to room temperature, or let it chill in the fridge first. The second rule is to leave about an inch of space at the top, and don't seal it completely right away. You want to give the Borscht space to expand as it freezes. You can always screw the tops down properly the next day.
Now, after what you just ate, you probably have a good three litres of Borscht that will keep for however long you need. Sometimes mine makes it a full two week before it disappears.
Share and enjoy!
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Oatcakes of DOOM!
In an effort to keep blogging, I've decided that if I think of something I want to blog, I'll do it now, not 'sometime later.' Also potentially keeping up with theme days. Who knows, maybe Saturdays will become 'Cooking With Eric' or something. Right now, the only thing I promise you is Oatcakes.
I started with this recipe on the Canadian Living website to get an idea of ingredients and proportions. I'd started messing around with it already on the first batch. Any time I make something on the sweet side of oats, I use cinnamon and nutmeg, so that was a no-brainer for me. This time however, I went all out. One of the first things I changed was to use the handy-dandy servings converter on the site to calculate proportions for 100 servings. Their original 36 was good, but I'm using these babies as a staple snack, so I need to be able to make more at a time. So from there we have:
Ingredients
4 1/4 cups rolled oats
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups cold butter or margarine
~1 cup cold water
cinnamon, nutmeg and honey to taste
In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt, with a generous dash of cinnamon and a less generous dash of nutmeg. Nutmeg is a powerful spice, and a little goes a long way. Cut up the butter or margarine and mix it into the rest by hand until mixture is pebbly. The original recipe wanted me to use knives or a pastry blender, but I have no such blender and find getting in there with my hands more effective and satisfying anyway.
Add honey and sprinkle water in a little at a time. Press it together with your hands, adding just enough water to hold the dry ingredients together. Again, hands. This is baking, we're meant to get our hands dirty.
Pre-heat oven to 350F. Form balls (a little larger than a golf-ball) and flatten onto a greased baking sheet to make cakes approximately 3/4" thick. The 1/4" thickness in the original recipe was good enough, but I found it too dry and wanted something more 'cake' and less 'cookie' anyway. This seems to work. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden on the outside. Let cool.
The whole thing makes about this much(minus the two that I already ate):
Share and enjoy!
I started with this recipe on the Canadian Living website to get an idea of ingredients and proportions. I'd started messing around with it already on the first batch. Any time I make something on the sweet side of oats, I use cinnamon and nutmeg, so that was a no-brainer for me. This time however, I went all out. One of the first things I changed was to use the handy-dandy servings converter on the site to calculate proportions for 100 servings. Their original 36 was good, but I'm using these babies as a staple snack, so I need to be able to make more at a time. So from there we have:
Ingredients
4 1/4 cups rolled oats
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups cold butter or margarine
~1 cup cold water
cinnamon, nutmeg and honey to taste
In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt, with a generous dash of cinnamon and a less generous dash of nutmeg. Nutmeg is a powerful spice, and a little goes a long way. Cut up the butter or margarine and mix it into the rest by hand until mixture is pebbly. The original recipe wanted me to use knives or a pastry blender, but I have no such blender and find getting in there with my hands more effective and satisfying anyway.
Add honey and sprinkle water in a little at a time. Press it together with your hands, adding just enough water to hold the dry ingredients together. Again, hands. This is baking, we're meant to get our hands dirty.
Pre-heat oven to 350F. Form balls (a little larger than a golf-ball) and flatten onto a greased baking sheet to make cakes approximately 3/4" thick. The 1/4" thickness in the original recipe was good enough, but I found it too dry and wanted something more 'cake' and less 'cookie' anyway. This seems to work. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden on the outside. Let cool.
The whole thing makes about this much(minus the two that I already ate):
Share and enjoy!
Saturday, 18 September 2010
Lets Talk About Food: Oat-covered Chicken and Fried Rice.
I've been cooking. The real thing too, with basic ingredients from scratch and everything. Ask anyone who's known me for a while; this is a strange occurrence. Still, if you think about it, me starting to cook now makes a lot of sense. It really comes down to three things:
One, hunger. I'm on T and among other things, it makes me hungry. Very hungry. Food-is-the-best-thing-in-the-world hungry.
Two, cost. I'm on the prowl for a job, but in the meantime money is tight. I could spend over $60 for frozen, ready-to-heat meals, or I could spend $45 on twice as much chicken, some eggs, and everything I need to make Borscht a couple of times over.
Three, something one of my teachers said. It was an analogy about learning skills versus learning specific projects by rote. He said, and I paraphrase here, that say you know how to make scrambled eggs, and only scrambled eggs, that's all you're going to make. However, if you understand that heat + eggs = cooked eggs, you can come up with a variety of ways to cook eggs. I pretty much took this analogy and sent it back to the concept of cooking: food + heat + spices = cooking. From there, I can experiment.
So, here's what I did today. I took a piece of boneless, skinless chicken breast, an egg, some breakfast-type oatmeal, and various spices. I beat the egg in one bowl and put some oatmeal and spices in another. I took the chicken, dipped it in the egg, then rolled it in the oats etc. until covered. Then I put it on a baking sheet in the oven at 400 Fahrenheit. I think I let it cook for about 15min, though I'm not 100% sure. Meanwhile, I made some rice and cleaned up a bit. The chicken was ready before I needed it, so I ended up keeping it in the oven with the heat off and the door open a bit while I worked on the rest. When the rice was ready, I added the egg I'd used for the chicken into the same pot I cooked the rice in. I also messed with the burner heat some and added soy sauce and frozen peas.
The fried rice, pretty much perfect, at least by my standards. The chicken... well, it ended up a little bland and a little dry. I think next time I'll get the rice started before hand, and maybe use more spices, and putting them in the egg as well, rather than just the oats. Either way, it was more than edible, and I didn't have anything half-cooked to give me food poisoning. I'll call that a success.
One, hunger. I'm on T and among other things, it makes me hungry. Very hungry. Food-is-the-best-thing-in-the-world hungry.
Two, cost. I'm on the prowl for a job, but in the meantime money is tight. I could spend over $60 for frozen, ready-to-heat meals, or I could spend $45 on twice as much chicken, some eggs, and everything I need to make Borscht a couple of times over.
Three, something one of my teachers said. It was an analogy about learning skills versus learning specific projects by rote. He said, and I paraphrase here, that say you know how to make scrambled eggs, and only scrambled eggs, that's all you're going to make. However, if you understand that heat + eggs = cooked eggs, you can come up with a variety of ways to cook eggs. I pretty much took this analogy and sent it back to the concept of cooking: food + heat + spices = cooking. From there, I can experiment.
So, here's what I did today. I took a piece of boneless, skinless chicken breast, an egg, some breakfast-type oatmeal, and various spices. I beat the egg in one bowl and put some oatmeal and spices in another. I took the chicken, dipped it in the egg, then rolled it in the oats etc. until covered. Then I put it on a baking sheet in the oven at 400 Fahrenheit. I think I let it cook for about 15min, though I'm not 100% sure. Meanwhile, I made some rice and cleaned up a bit. The chicken was ready before I needed it, so I ended up keeping it in the oven with the heat off and the door open a bit while I worked on the rest. When the rice was ready, I added the egg I'd used for the chicken into the same pot I cooked the rice in. I also messed with the burner heat some and added soy sauce and frozen peas.
The fried rice, pretty much perfect, at least by my standards. The chicken... well, it ended up a little bland and a little dry. I think next time I'll get the rice started before hand, and maybe use more spices, and putting them in the egg as well, rather than just the oats. Either way, it was more than edible, and I didn't have anything half-cooked to give me food poisoning. I'll call that a success.
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