gone fishing...

just kidding. although i might end up fishing in the canadian wilderness on our trip to toronto and nyc. i'm hoping to be able to post an entry or two while on the road, but if not, bear with me, we'll be home on sept11.

the dog will not be happy, but grandma is coming to babysit, and i bet the dog is getting plenty of treats and attention while we're gone...

august moon

just as i was parking my car after getting home last night, the moon was perfectly behind this huge blumby cloud, it looked like a huge halo. i hurried indoors, remembered to take the tripod from car. but, the moment was gone...only this was left







i took the pictures from my balcony, left the camera on tripod, and went out once in a while to click the camera. i wished i had been at the cottage, the lake would have made amazing reflections of the moon







took this one at 1.30 am (yes mom, i know i should have been asleep since today was work). it was rather chilly, only +10c at that time

very quick veggie noodles

this was one quick lunch / dinner to go. i had a little thing going on with button mushrooms not too long ago, brown them in a little butter...hmm






brown like this







i was happy to find out that my favourite noodles come now in whole wheat as well







cooked the noodles according to package instructions, i usually don't use even half of the spices included, way too salty for my taste, but i do like the garlicky oil of some sort







frozen wok-veggies, heated them in a colander over the boiling noodles







divided the noodles, veggies and mushroom in half. ate the other half right away, took the rest to work for my dinner. did add some sesame oil to the portion i took to work

mushroom risotto

on monday i decided that there has to be something in the pantry for dinner without having to go to the grocery store...i found these







dried black trumpets (craterellus cornucopioides) and funnel cantharelles (cantharellus tubaeformis)







these mushrooms keep almost forever in an airtight container. they only need a bath in boiling hot water to revive







30 mins, or so, will do the trick







i had decided to make risotto with the mushrooms. took out an onion, garlic (not pictured), parmesan and risotto rice







and these. for the life of me i can't understand why i've ever bought them! yes, they are handy at the cottage, in a snowstorm when there is no way to get anything else, but other than that...i just plain don't like them







the tin was going to expire in a few months so instead of tossing them in the compost, i gave them a good rinse and chopped them quite fine







took out this as well...the souvenir from split, minced black truffle in oil







i had never tasted it before...interesting







happened to have some whipping cream in the fridge (closing in on the expiry date)







loads of parmesan







started by sauteeing the minced onion on medium pan, then added the rice and garlic, sauteed some more before adding vegetable stock in batches (according to the rice package instructions). i added all of the mushrooms in the beginning figuring they'll yield more flavor that way. i used ½ tsp of the truffle mince to season before adding the parmesan and cream







yam!







will need to try the truffle on it's own on something, not sure i could quite taste it in here

3 pies

last saturday, after work, i thought i'd make a quick detour to the grocery store on my way home to get something light for dinner...well, it got me wanting some ham pie, kind of quiche lorraine. as most of my "motorized tools" are at the shack, i opted for frozen pie doughs.

got a medium size leek, halved it and rinsed under runnign water to get rid of possible grime in between the leaves. most cookbooks will tell you to mince/chop the leek and then rinse it in a collander under running water. i guess the main point would be to get rid of the grime, not how it's done...







but, would you have spotted this if you'd mince it first...







minced the dark green part of leek quite fine as it cooks longer, the white part got an easier handling. i got 400 gr smoked ham which got diced into 1cm pieces







sauteed the leeks on medium high heat in olive oil until wilted, let it cool while...







rolling out the dough...if i have a rolling pin at my apartment, i don't know where it is hiding. this thermos bottle came in as a handy replacement. for this pie i got a rye dough, therefore the darker color







bought i big bunch of parsley as well, minced some for the filling







grated some emmental to go in as well. i so need to update my grater...i know what i'll bring for myself from our upcoming trip to toronto and nyc







not too much...approx ½ cup







this mess would be 2 eggs, 2 dl sour cream, 1 dl cream, mixed well before adding on the filling







plenty of black pepper to season the filling







first mixed leek/ham/emmental/black pepper, the placed the mixture on the dough







then poured in the egg/sour cream mixture and added some grated parmesan on top before putting it into 200C oven for 40 mins







the smell was amazing...







but i only had one small piece, honest!







because i had this mess to clean up before starting the next pie...







the other pie was veggies with two cheeses







this mix is called american, i have no idea why, maybe for the mini corn?







used this pie dough, it's lactose free and made of vegetable fat, and spreads easy into a round pie form







i have a mini silicone rolling-pin for this task, i don't know why as a glass works fine, if not better







one of the cheeses, cottage cheese







this pie got the same egg/sour cream mixture, seasoned it with chili powder and thyme







the other cheese was the emmental, approx 2 dl







also this got grated parmesan on top







40 mins in 180C on the lower rack in the oven







had to have a tiny slice, quality control, you know







had to make one sweet pie as well. this here is blueberries with jamming sugar and corn starch







40 mins in 180C. by the time i pulled this out of the oven it was quite late so no tasters of this one







this here was my dinner...with butter, not exactly light