Happy Halloween

My Recession Kitchen is Featured on "the Kitchn"

Earlier this week, Kathryn Hill from Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn came to my house to photograph my kitchen and garden for their website.  This was our daughter’s idea, she’s a long time reader of Apartment Therapy’s website, which is really five websites in one: home design, technology, children, green living and cooking.  

So if you’re interested in taking a peak of my kitchen and garden, click on the link above and have a look for yourself. 

Daring Bakers' Challenge: French Macarons

Vegan French Macarons, from the left: Plain with white chocolate cranberry filling; chocolate with chocolate filling; goji berry with chocolate filling; barley malt with chocolate filling.

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S.  She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of the Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

Pear Chocolate Brownie Tarts

I’ve been trying to find a really good eggless brownie recipe for some time now.  I’ve looked through countless cook books, read pages and pages of google searches and tested many recipes over the years, only to be disappointed with the final result.  They were either too gooey, too cakey or too dry.   Eggs seem to be a very important component to really good brownies, but due to my allergy, they’re just not an option.  Tofu doesn’t work for me either.  I love tofu, but I just don’t like that soy under tone in a dessert.  Plus, I think tofu gives them a rubbery texture.

What's Going on Behind the Garden Today

We have a bumper crop of acorns this year from the valley oak tree in the alley behind our house.  I read that It takes 50 years for an oak tree to get it’s acorns and can drop 50,000 of them yearly.  The most amazing fact is that one oak tree can provide enough oxygen for eight people for a year!  

Pumpkin Risotto with Caramelized Onion and Hazelnuts

It’s raining again so when it comes time to make dinner, I start thinking about comfort foods.  Something warm and creamy.  I had some left over canned pumpkin, from a failed pumpkin cookie attempt, that I needed to use, a pumpkin risotto came to mind.  I don’t usually plan, to far in advance, what I’m going to cook for dinner. It’s a question of what leftovers need to be used or what veggies need to be picked in the garden or what looks good at the farmer’s market.

The Big Rain Storm Has Passed

My garden supervisor is out inspecting the yard after the biggest mid-October rain storm in forty years. The storm has passed, leaving behind over 4 inches of rain in a 24 hour period.  There were also 40-90 mile an hour winds.  Needless to say, there was some flooding, downed trees, and loss of power in the Bay Area, but we didn’t experience any problems.  We’d put away all of the summer yard furniture and covered the tomatoes with plastic sheeting, hoping to prevent them from splitting.