as if you didn't know already...

I am a huge dork. I love video games; I love geeky science stuff; and yes, I love bowling. my birthday present this past year was going to the live nationally televised bowling championships (and yes, I was on TV with my amazing sign that my hubs made). it was awesome.

I have been in bowling leagues for a few years now, but it was always with das. he was the "bowler" and I relied on his expertise to guide me when things weren't working out well. he's the one who bought me a new ball (for the previous birthday) and really helped me in improving my game. I mean, with that ball, I was able to increase my average almost twenty pins. I was the most improved female bowler in last year's league, and ended up with the third highest average. I owe a lot of that to him.

but now. he has abandoned me. I'm left, alone, to try and figure out for myself, what I need to do to improve, or, at the very least, stay consistent. he's sticking with only one league this year... and of course, he's opting for the mens' league instead of the co-ed league that we were doing together. sure, I'm a little disappointed, but I think that maybe... it's exactly what I needed. I needed to make these decisions for myself. do I slow down my speed? do I move over a board or two? how do I adjust so that my ball rolls straighter?

I answered all of those questions last night. on my own. the first night of bowling... I called him. I said, "I can't do this." but this week... it was as though I was my own bowler. I actually improved over the course of the evening. I posted a 158-161-168 for the night. that's a 485 series. I'm now up to a 153 average after three weeks... and am getting back up to where I should be... where I was when I was bowling with das by my side, instructing me.

I am glad that my husband and I can share in geekdom love such as this. the family that bowls together, stays together, right? sure, I'll miss him on wednesday nights. but what I won't miss... is that dependency on his skill. because, baby, I've got my own. so watch out... here I come!

PS) also excited about the new ball I'm getting tonight. number one choice is the hammer black widow sting; second choice is the storm dimension. so we'll see how that goes... :D

fun things I can do...

...now that my basement doesn't retain water like pregnant lady. :)

> quilt

> organize my fabric and patterns and whatnot

> run around in circles chasing my dog

> plan how I'm going to decorate the basement

> store things (so that das will stop complaining about stuff being messy)

> play darts

ok, so it's not a ridiculously long list right now. we can't really do too much because we can't really afford to finish it. it'd be probably a grand or more just to put in a floating floor (which das and I could do). and we'd need to put in some different lighting, too, so that it's not just that typical basement lighting. you know... the light bulb with the pull string that's 400 feet long but made of some string that breaks when you look at it wrong so you end up having to lick your fingers and just screw the bulb on and off anyway. yeah, that kind. so overall... it'll probably be a while before anything major happens.

but at least in the meantime, das will be dry when he does the laundry. :)

happy passover!

since tomorrow night at sundown marks the first night of passover, I thought I would pass along a tasty treat (from my fav website king arthur flour) that I will be making for das's family's passover seder. I was asked to bring dessert. because of the dietary rules and regs of passover, that rules out anything containing flour, which is, for the most part, your cakes, muffins, pies... you know... anything potentially easy. so I bring to you a sweet dessert that you may even be putting together for those non-passover days, too: chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons!

for the macaroons:
> generous (5) c. shredded unsweeted coconut
> 1-1/2 c. coconut cream - (1) 16 oz can
> 1/4 tsp. salt
> optional: 1/2 tsp. coconut flavor (like vanilla, but coconut instead)
> optional: 1/3 c. coconut milk powder

for the coating:
> 1-1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
> 2-1/2 tb. margarine (butter is dairy and thus can't be consumed with meat)
> 2 tb. honey (recipe calls for light corn syrup, but that's not kosher - literally!)

directions:
> preheat oven to 350* - lightly grease a baking sheet or line one with parchment
> in a medium bowl, mix together coconut, coconut cream, and salt (if you are adding the coconut flavor, now's the time!). stir until completely combined.
> if you are adding the coconut milk powder, do it now. while it's not necessary to add this, it really holds the coconut balls together while scooping. it just makes life a touch easier!
> drop the sticky mixture in ping-pong sized balls (that's about 1-1/2") onto the baking sheets (a cookie scoop works well here so you don't have to touch it a lot). you can place them fairly close together on the pan (3/4" - 1" apart); they won't be expanding.
> bake for about (10) minutes. note: they won't brown (or very very very little at most) so don't keep them in there until they do!
> remove from oven and cool completely before coating.
> for coating: heat the chocolate chips, margarine, and honey until the chips are soft. try the microwave, or a saucepan on low heat. dip half of the cooled macaroon into the chocolate. set it back on the baking sheet and allow the chocolate to set.
> to store, place in one layer in a closed container. they should keep for 2-3 days, but that's only if they last that long...

frozen food

ok. so it's friday... and I'm doing tasty tuesday. get over it. :)

yesterday was my friend's birthday and tomorrow we're going over to her house for some food, beer, and basketball (uconn's in the final four - GO HUSKIES!). so... I decided to make something that would really be a hit with everyone, but wouldn't take me a lot of time. I found the perfect little dessert... that I can't wait to dig into tomorrow: the buster sundae pie.

I found this recipe in my inbox a few weeks ago courtesy of pillsbury.com's celebration of pi day (on 3/14... get it?). as soon as I saw it, I knew it needed to be made. here you go!

crust
> 1 refrigerated pie crust (from 15-oz box), softened as directed on box

filling
> 4 c. (1 qt) vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
> 1/2 c. caramel topping
> 1/2 c. fudge topping
> 3/4 c. Spanish peanuts (4 oz)
> optional: additional peanuts, if desired

directions:

> heat oven to 450°F. bake pie crust as directed on box for one-crust baked shell, using 9-inch glass pie plate. cool on cooling rack 15 minutes. (note: obviously, it's a pillsbury recipe, so they'll reference their own product, but don't feel obligated)
> layer 2 cups of the ice cream in crust. drizzle with 1/4 cup of the caramel topping and 1/4 cup of the fudge topping. sprinkle with peanuts. layer remaining 2 cups ice cream over peanuts.

> freeze 4 hours or overnight.

serving:

> drizzle individual servings with remaining caramel topping and fudge topping. sprinkle with additional peanuts. cover and freeze any remaining pie.

so that's the pillsbury version... let me tell you what *I* did. :)

ingredients: pre-made chocolate pie crust, vanilla ice cream (softened), spanish peanuts, caramel syrup, chocolate syrup

directions: fill the bottom of the pie crust with some softened ice cream. throw a healthy handful or seven of peanuts onto the ice cream. drizzle the chocolate and caramel syrups over the peanuts. put some more of the softened ice cream on top. top again with another healthy handful of peanuts plus more chocolate and caramel syrup. put in the freezer and let set overnight.

the downside to using the pre-made crust is that it's an 8" crust instead of a 9" crust... and so mine maybe sort of kind of overflowed a little bit. BUT... that's just going to make it more tasty later, yes? so if you do use the pre-made crust, I would suggest putting it into a glass pie plate (9") foil and all so that you can catch some drippings.

ENJOY! :D

what's cookin'

in an attempt to get back into the blogging swing of things, and to kind of liven up the blog (since I lost a follower due to my lack of updating, I assume)... I am going to start the "tasty tuesdays" program. :) I very much enjoy cooking and baking and food in general... so I feel as though I'd like to share this. I can't guarantee that these recipes are any good... I'm sure it'll be a mix and match of ones I've tried and ones I want to try. but I'm going to guarantee I won't be putting up anything that straight up sucks.

oh, and even though this was started as a "quilt blog"... last time I checked... quilters still needed to eat too. unless of course you figured out a way to just sit and quilt and not need sustinence at all... but I don't think jen has shared her secret yet. ;)

so, even though it's a week past... *last* tuesday was st. patrick's day. and this is the inaugural week of tasty tuesdays... so I think I'll do two tasty treats for today. :)

first off, let's start with a rough recipe for guinness crock pot corned beef with colcannon. I was informed by an irishman currently residing in ireland that corned beef dinner... isn't really irish. I mean, ok yeah it is... but it's more irish-american... a creation that came to be once the irish immigrants arrived here in the states. but regardless of where it came from, it is worthy of tasty tuesday.

guinness crock pot corned beef
> 2-4lb flat cut corned beef (flat cut is a bit more expensive, but WAY more worth it)
note: if your corned beef has no seasoning packet included, just add some whole cloves (5-6), some black peppercorns (5-6), and a bay leaf, OR just 1-2T. pickling spices, if you have them
> 1c. brown sugar
> 1-2 bottles of guinness stout ale
note: I think it would be interesting to try out some different brands, or some different flavors, more specifically chocolate stout. stouts are inherently bitter, hence the brown sugar, but I imagine cutting back on the brown sugar yet using a chocolate stout would produce similarly tasty results

in your crock pot, add (1) bottle of guinness (or other stout) and your brown sugar. mix together until the sugar dissolves. add in your corned beef. if you have a larger crock pot (like I do) and your corned beef is not even really touching the liquid, then add another bottle of guinness (or other stout). when I did mine, I went so far as to completely cover the corned beef (using three bottles). it was probably overkill, and next time I make it, I'll probably settle for two. set your crock pot for low for the next (8) hours... and just leave it! don't lift the lid... don't check on it. it will be fine. I promise! after time expires... take the meat out and place on a plate, or cutting board. cover with foil. when your colcannon is finished... and you are prepping to cut your meat... make sure to cut corned beef AGAINST the grain, or else it will just fall to pieces.

colcannon
> 1/4-1/3 head of fresh cabbage
> 4-5 small to medium potatoes
> 2T. unsalted butter (for sautéing)
> 3-4T. unsalted butter, cubed (for flavoring potatoes)
> 1/4-1/3c. milk
> dash of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

peel and cut your potatoes into about 2" cubes (or close to it - it's not an exact science). place them in a pot and add water until the potatoes are just covered. bring to a boil. [I usually add some kosher salt at this point, not to increase the boiling speed, but to season the potatoes while they are cooking] in the meantime, shred your cabbage into strips. this is where my mandolin slicer came in useful, but I have also just used my veggie peeler on an angle with similar results. heat a pan over medium to medium high heat and begin to let your butter melt. once your pan is hot and the butter is melted, but not browning, add the cabbage and a pinch of salt. sauté the cabbage for about 5-6 minutes. at this point, your potatoes should be cooked through. drain them and mash, adding in the cubed butter. add the milk a bit at a time and mix, until the potatoes have reached your desired consistency. add a pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds of the pepper mill... then dump in your sautéed cabbage. fold the cabbage in until completely mixed.

plate up your corned beef with your colcannon... and enjoy! you may not even need to add any mustard the flavor is so good.


ok, and last, but not least... is a recipe... that I want to TRY! this recipe was emailed to me from GE (I'm on their mailing lists - I like to ogle the beautiful new appliances)

st. patrick's day soup
> 6 large idaho potatoes (or maine potatoes, if you're cool like that), peeled and cubed
> 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
> 1 large onion, chopped
> 4c. chicken broth
> 2tsp. thyme
> 16oz sour cream (that's one full container)
> 1 stick unsalted butter
> 1/2c. flour
> 2c. milk
> dash of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

put the potatoes, onion, broth, and thyme into a pot. bring to a boil, cover, then simmer for about (20) minutes, or until the po-tates are tender. melt the butter in a medium saucepan. stir in flour to create a smooth paste (roux?). add the milk, a small amount at at time, continually stirring to make the mixture smooth. bring this to a boil, again continually stirring, until it thickens. season with salt and pepper and add to the potato mixture. stir in all the sour cream. heat through and serve.


holy cats that sounds rich and delish. I think I would like to consider a cheddar potato soup... perhaps melting some freshly grated cheddar in with the milky roux-y mixture before adding it to the potato pot. also, I'm not sure how this will come out in the end... I may have to bust out with the immersion blender... which is always a good thing. :)

well, I hope you enjoyed the first installment of tasty tuesday... please feel free to comment on the recipes, or let me know how YOU liked them once you tried them.