I believe food is incredible. I'm a foodie; I love it, I love learning about it, I love cooking it, I love sharing it with others. It's a passion, an artistic release and a form of therapy. Personally, I find it astounding that one of the most baser instincts and necessary-to-life needs can be transformed into literal works of art. I know that a philosophical argument can be made that all art is necessary to life and so on, and I'm not arguing against that point, but truly; what other art form can you think of that, if made to do without, may cause irreparable physical damage and in some cases, death?
So yes, there is a reverence to food in my household. There's always some new recipe, technique, gadget, kitchen experimentation either occurring or being cooked up by any one of us at any time. It can be very exciting; like when I learned how to make the world's best ever Cranberry Orange Scones (recipe will follow). There are also times when it's scary and occasionally dangerous, like when we sauteed some Serrano chiles and the acrid smoke made us all choke and die.
Tangent: The dish those Serranos went into was absolutely delicious. Unfortunately you couldn't eat more than one bite, though, since your tongue would be singed right out of your mouth.
The downside to having a house full of foodies is that after the celebration we call dinner, there's clean up and leftovers. The clean up is never that bad, it's always manageable and contained mostly in the kitchen and surrounding areas, but the leftovers... The leftovers.
I believe it stems from a genetic script that drives many women to cook for 8-10 people, even when there are only 3 in the house. No matter how hard you fight it, it's virtually impossible to overpower: "We... MUST... make... two... pans... of... Macaroni and CHHHEEEEEEESSSEEEEE!!!" Who on Earth is going to need that much Macaroni and Cheese? Seriously.
Things end up in the freezer, they are given away to friends or they are wrapped in foil to sit in the fridge until someone either takes one for the team or it just rots away. I hate the rotting away part, but having leftovers for dinner strips me of the opportunity to build another work of art!
So leftovers are typically left for solo meals when one of us has to eat something and doesn't want to cook and there isn't anyone there to cook for us. Hence dinner last night; a tuna sandwich and leftover enchiladas. A strange yet poignant combination that may evolve... Fish tacos, so obvious... but fish enchiladas? Enchilada sauce in tuna salad? We'll have to see what comes of it.
Best Ever Cranberry Orange Scones
Makes 8 Scones
Oven at 450
Scone:2 ½ C. Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
4 Tbsp Sugar
½ tsp Kosher Salt
6 Tbsp Shortening
½ C. Craisins
3 tsp Orange Zest
¾ C. Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
1. Sift together Flour, Baking Powder, Sugar and Salt.
2. Work Shortening into dry ingredients with fingers.
3. Add Craisins and Orange Zest to mixture. Combine until Craisins are coated in flour.
4. Add Milk and Vanilla. Combine until dough begins to form.
5. Turn out onto a floured board. Gently knead until fully combined and divide into two equal pieces.
6. Roll or pat into dough into rounds to the thickness of biscuits- ¾ to 1 inch.
7. Cut into wedge shaped quarters and bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees on an ungreased baking sheet.
8. Allow to cool on wire racks until just warm to the touch. Top with Orange Glaze.
Orange Glaze:
1 C. Powdered Sugar1 tsp Orange Zest
¼ tsp Vanilla
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Milk
Combine Powdered Sugar, Orange Zest and Vanilla. Slowly add 1 Tbsp of Milk while stirring with whisk. Add add'l tsp of milk as needed until mixture is of proper drizzling consistency.
If glaze is too sweet for your taste just split open the scones while they're warm and eat them with some butter and jam!
So yes, there is a reverence to food in my household. There's always some new recipe, technique, gadget, kitchen experimentation either occurring or being cooked up by any one of us at any time. It can be very exciting; like when I learned how to make the world's best ever Cranberry Orange Scones (recipe will follow). There are also times when it's scary and occasionally dangerous, like when we sauteed some Serrano chiles and the acrid smoke made us all choke and die.
Tangent: The dish those Serranos went into was absolutely delicious. Unfortunately you couldn't eat more than one bite, though, since your tongue would be singed right out of your mouth.
The downside to having a house full of foodies is that after the celebration we call dinner, there's clean up and leftovers. The clean up is never that bad, it's always manageable and contained mostly in the kitchen and surrounding areas, but the leftovers... The leftovers.
I believe it stems from a genetic script that drives many women to cook for 8-10 people, even when there are only 3 in the house. No matter how hard you fight it, it's virtually impossible to overpower: "We... MUST... make... two... pans... of... Macaroni and CHHHEEEEEEESSSEEEEE!!!" Who on Earth is going to need that much Macaroni and Cheese? Seriously.
Things end up in the freezer, they are given away to friends or they are wrapped in foil to sit in the fridge until someone either takes one for the team or it just rots away. I hate the rotting away part, but having leftovers for dinner strips me of the opportunity to build another work of art!
So leftovers are typically left for solo meals when one of us has to eat something and doesn't want to cook and there isn't anyone there to cook for us. Hence dinner last night; a tuna sandwich and leftover enchiladas. A strange yet poignant combination that may evolve... Fish tacos, so obvious... but fish enchiladas? Enchilada sauce in tuna salad? We'll have to see what comes of it.
Best Ever Cranberry Orange Scones
Makes 8 Scones
Oven at 450
Scone:2 ½ C. Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
4 Tbsp Sugar
½ tsp Kosher Salt
6 Tbsp Shortening
½ C. Craisins
3 tsp Orange Zest
¾ C. Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
1. Sift together Flour, Baking Powder, Sugar and Salt.
2. Work Shortening into dry ingredients with fingers.
3. Add Craisins and Orange Zest to mixture. Combine until Craisins are coated in flour.
4. Add Milk and Vanilla. Combine until dough begins to form.
5. Turn out onto a floured board. Gently knead until fully combined and divide into two equal pieces.
6. Roll or pat into dough into rounds to the thickness of biscuits- ¾ to 1 inch.
7. Cut into wedge shaped quarters and bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees on an ungreased baking sheet.
8. Allow to cool on wire racks until just warm to the touch. Top with Orange Glaze.
Orange Glaze:
1 C. Powdered Sugar1 tsp Orange Zest
¼ tsp Vanilla
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Milk
Combine Powdered Sugar, Orange Zest and Vanilla. Slowly add 1 Tbsp of Milk while stirring with whisk. Add add'l tsp of milk as needed until mixture is of proper drizzling consistency.
If glaze is too sweet for your taste just split open the scones while they're warm and eat them with some butter and jam!
