On Hiatus

We've been terribly negligent with this blog of late. It's been a really busy month and a half full of ass clowns crashing into our parked cars and other assorted misadventures. We're both pretty tired and overwhelmed by our imminent returns to teaching, and I'm afraid we don't really have the time or energy to attend to this baby for a while.

Perhaps we'll return in the future. Or at least in time to show you pictures of Satchi in his blond wigged witch hat for Halloween 2009.

- Lorena

At this point I should probably turn this into a diet blog

Lest you think I actually murdered the computer, I am here to tell you that it is still "alive" but still recovering my hard drive at an absurdly slow pace. I have finally acclimated to using Justino's laptop though so now I can improve my horribly neglectful relationship with this blog.

I can't blame my absence on the computer alone; we were off on our first trip to California in three years. I can assure you that we made the most of it and practically ate our way through half of the state. There was lots of delicious Mexican food (fish tacos and tortas galore), my new frozen yogurt obsession, Yogurtland, in Santa Barbara (Taro root yogurt! I'm usually an ice cream girl, but this might lure me in to their NYC branch before long), the best ice cream that I haven't made myself at Bi-Rite Creamery in San Francisco (okay, I couldn't stay faithful to frozen yogurt for too long), crab cakes in Newport Beach, and lots of fabulous home-cooked meals thanks to our hosts. I conducted an informal deviled egg taste test at a Fourth of July barbeque (both batches were delicious) and ate Satchi's weight in See's Candies. I think I'll be spending the rest of the summer in mumus.

Check out more photos from our trip on Flickr.

- Lorena

Lazy, Distracted, Feeling Murderous in Presence of Computer

It's been awhile. My computer is involved in a crazy data recovery process which I hope will get back all the photos from Mexico I lost when my computer got repaired. No, it wasn't Apple's fault. It was mine. I am an idiot, and I took to bed for a whole day when I realized how big of an idiot.

Anyway, this recovery process has been happening for almost two weeks, makes my computer ridiculously slow, and is not even halfway finished. It's been a nice excuse not to write my dissertation. So I've been entertaining myself by making hibiscus flower sorbet, masa harina and ground squash seed muffins, and berry crips galore. I made a trip to a good university library so have been able to read as well. It's all work-related, but it's been enjoyable, with the exception of the book that gave me way too detailed information about soil quality in Yucatan. More exciting was the huge Asian grocery I spied on the way home from the library. I can't wait to stop there on my next trip. Bubble tea, anyone? I will let you know how it goes and whether I can avoid gagging in the fish section.

In other news, my hair continues its sad trajectory towards complete and utter chaos, thanks to the endless humid weather we've been having. I think I might just glue a headband to my scalp and end this battle once and for all.

Expect a more substantial post when my computer stops being the bane of my existence.

- Lorena

When All Else Fails . . .

I ended up baking a cake yesterday. To be honest, I didn't feel like doing anything else.

It was easy and good, and I'm not usually one for non-chocolate, non-peanut butter desserts.

Almond Yogurt Cake
(adapted from Orangette)

Cake:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 sugar
3 large eggs
1.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup olive oil

Glaze:
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup slivered, roasted almonds

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch cake pan. Combine yogurt, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl until well blended. Add flour, baking powder, and almond extract. Mix to combine. Add both oils and stir until smooth. Pour into pan and bake for 35 minutes until tester comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes and then remove from pan.

For glaze, heat cream, butter, and extract over low heat until smooth. When cake is cool, pour glaze onto cake and cover with slivered almonds. The glaze may seem watery, but it will soak into the cake wonderfully. Chill briefly to set the gaze.

Eat and feel better.

- Lorena

Busy . . .

crying over lost photo files, recovering from a nightmare in which I had a giant goiter, and refusing to get dressed because, damn it, I am sick of this miserably, drizzly weather.

I promise a return soon, and let it be a happy one.

- Lorena

The Bacon Fat Diaries, Part Two

I make a pretty mean basic cornbread, if I don't say so myself. I have a great recipe for fixing a batch up, and sometimes, if I'm feeling wild and crazy, I'll even throw in some cheese and jalapenos. I was content.

Then came the bacon fat. I pretty much google-d "cornbread" and "bacon fat" and picked the first recipe for which I had all the ingredients. The photo that accompanied the recipe was pretty enticing, too. So I made this Skillet Cornbread.

My only complaint was that it was very crumbly. This didn't really matter because it was so very damn delicious that eating it with a spoon and a smidgen of butter was just fine with me. It was so much more tender than any cornbread I've ever had, less cake-y, and more, I don't know, cornbread-y (or as I imagine cornbread was intended). We had it with this perfectly nice Black Bean and Sweet Potato Stew, and, sorry, Stew, you were completely overshadowed.

- Lorena

P.S. I'll make you a batch if you come over and scrub the burners on my stove.

The Bacon Fat Diaries, Part One

I'm not much of a meat eater. I've never liked the taste of beef, and my rare consumption of pork products is limited to the least healthy: salami, pepperoni, and, of course, bacon. In the spirit of reducing waste I saved my bacon fat from my Mother's Day brunch. I figured I'd use it maybe once a week to add some flavor to a meal so as to not completely overwhelm my arteries. My first try was some red beans and rice, a pretty typical weekday dinner for us. I just used a couple of tablespoons of the fat in place of olive oil to saute onions, garlic, and carrots and then threw in some beans, Cajun seasoning, and hot sauce. I like to mix the rice in right before serving so it soaks up the smoky flavor and then served with some baked sweet potato fries on the side. The only problem? It happens every time I make sweet potato fries: I get too impatient and don't let them get crispy enough. Still, they taste pretty damn good with a dollop of ketchup.

We'll see what else can benefit from a spoonful of animal fat next week. Maybe I'll get around to some cornbread or a nice skillet of greens. In the meantime, I'll do my best to walk the grease off for AIDS Walk 2009.

- Lorena