my life at home

My dream of being a kept woman has come true, at least for right now. I do get a kick out of working sometimes. Completing tasks, making something cool, solving problems. Getting paid is also neat. But if I didn't work, that would be okay too. There are so many interesting things to do with ones time.

I've been pretty busy starting my design practice, but I'm also managing to take on a whole host of housewifely tasks. Blissful creativity, hard work and tasty payoffs. One of the most unusual new culinary things I tried was fried squash blossoms. We picked some zucchini and pumpkin flowers from the garden, stuffed them with goat cheese, brushed them with egg and rolled them around in some hot oil on the stove. So good. Hot cheese always is!

Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Another fun activity has been bread making. Mike bought me a Mother Earth News Magazine while I was still in Seattle that had a long article about bread making. The first loaf in Seattle was a little smokey tasting because at 500 degrees, the goop in the bottom of the oven smoldered at a slow burn the entire 35 minutes, setting the smoke alarms off. Since then, I've gotten it down and enjoy trying small adjustments to the process to see what affects it has. Its super easy. No work at all. And obviously I don't need to go on about the joys of slicing into a warm loaf of crusty bread and drowning it in fresh olive oil and salt...

http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/homemade-bread-zm0z10zsto.aspx

I've also made use of my grandmother's old mixer for cookies. As you can see the tiny mixing bowl doesn't quite have room for a full batch... I tried a bigger bowl, but it won't mix very well. Despite it's shortcomings, I have to give this mixer props for still chugging along since the 1950's or whenever it was made.

Another tasty delight in our household are eggs! Our lovely little girls (or not so little anymore) are producing an egg each per day. What a fun thing. And the eggs taste egg flavored. See in the photo some of the last eggs we bought on the left, next to some of our first chicken eggs on the right. Thanks Buffy and Dotty!

The real thing.

My latest foray into my agricultural roots has been apple cider. Grandpa had 7 apple trees, all of which are producing beautifully. There are plenty to eat and bake with, but it's hard to imagine tossing all the rest that fall off the tree or get nibbled by birds. So I watched some you tube videos and put together an idea for a cider press. The only thing we had to buy was a bottle jack, since I only had a scissor jack for my car, which doesn't fit into a bucket.

See the apples here

The first step is to wash the apples, and cut them into quarters. Then I whip them around for a couple seconds in the cuisinart. I take the pulp out to the garage, where my press is set up.

Apple bits - they turn brown right away.

Mike and I built this frame out of wood pieces in the carport. Mike runs the table saw, which I refuse to operate. We drilled a bunch of holes in a bucket that I had, created a round wood piece to fit the bottom inside of the bucket, and set up a garbage bag in a cardboard box to catch the juice, which runs into a pitcher. The first few runs didn't produce much, but once I wrapped the pulp in an old towel before I pressed it, the pulp didn't clog the holes, and we got a whole glassful from just 8 small apples. I have since decided that adding some water before drinking isn't a bad idea. The straight cider puts some hair on your chest. The next step is to see if we can't make some cider moonshine!

The Press, in all it's simple glory.

Yesterday, I applied for two part time jobs, to get some cash coming in to cover the costs of getting the business going. And so I can buy some fall boots :) So perhaps my free-est of free days are soon to be taken up by making photocopies for someone and coming up with a logo design for myself. But I'll still have weekends and living in this house in the woods, 5 miles from town, is very conducive to working on projects here at home.

brain juice

I am currently in the middle of conducting an experiment. I am the subject and coffee is the control. 

I have drank coffee almost daily for 11 years. I am addicted to it. I crave it, I depend on it, I like it, it's my precious. I have an emotional addiction, a physical addiction and a mental addiction. It's a warm way to get some fluids in the morning. I like the taste. I like the ritual. I like the social aspect and how it feels to drink coffee when you go out to breakfast - cool. It's the cool addiction, especially in Seattle.

This has begun to frighten me a bit. Over 11 years of consuming something that clearly has a real effect on health... After learning more about how coffee can cause headaches, muscle cramping and bad circulation, I have decided to go off of it for an undetermined amount of time. I completed 3 weeks of coffee free living. The first week, I felt like an idiot. I couldn't think, couldn't wake up and couldn't speak. At work the third day I had to break down and have an inch of cold, burned coffee just to get through the afternoon - I was making mistakes and staring off into space. As soon as I drank it, it was instantly like someone turned the power on in my brain. 

Since then, I've been waking up better, seem to have more energy and am enjoying new kinds of tea - both caffeinated and herbal. I had a latte and a cup of french press coffee last week, and it was delicious. I had time to enjoy them and it didn't seem to trigger the addiction. My muscles are still crunchy and I have gotten a few headaches, but that's fine. I think I may like coffee more if I just drink it occasionally instead of like a shot in the morning to keep me afloat.

I'm going to keep on like this for a while longer. It seems to be working out pretty well. Maybe over a little more time I will begin to see some other changes. There's only one way to find out.

hot lettuce

All summer long we have been receiving fresh vegetables from Melissa's sister, who works at a CSA farm. We don't have a subscription, but we get the extra stuff that didn't go nicely into people's paid boxes. As a result, there have been some unusual or at least unknown green things from time to time. The other night, we planned a roommate dinner since we never all seem to be home anymore at the same time. The menu: flank steak, risotto with tomatoes and goat cheese and sauteed bok choy. Or so we thought it was bok choy in the bag before we looked at it. At dinner time, we pulled out the ingredients and saw that we had some kind of lettuce. We deemed it "Chinese Lettuce" and proceeded to saute it with garlic and sesame oil, because I had my heart set on doing it. The hot lettuce wasn't nearly as gross as it looked. It wasn't bad. We all tried some and even went back for seconds. I think it would have been difficult to disappoint us since we were just pleased to be around each other.


I have been feeling somewhat akin to the Chinese lately, because of my new experiences with acupuncture. I'm tired of getting headaches. After 12 years of pain ranging from annoying to debilitating, I was ready to try something completely new. I once went to a doctor who gave me a prescription for pain pills to take every day to prevent headaches. I did that for a bit, but then felt bad for my liver and quit. Another doctor told me to do yoga, which may have worked except that I find yoga dull (except the laying still part at the end, which I love). Another said to get massages, which I also did, but probably not in the amount I needed to make any real progress. My friends and family have chipped in a lot with additional massage, but in the words of Mike, my shoulders and neck still feel like a stringed instrument instead of muscles.

I hit my deductible this year for my health insurance, so I decided to try something else. They cover acupuncture without needing a referral, so I signed myself up. I didn't really know anything about it, or really what qi was, but I figured lots of people find it to be helpful, so why not? What's a few needles? My first visit, I talked with Stephanie for an hour about my body history. She wanted to know everything. The giant knot I woke up with in my neck one morning in the 5th grade, how my digestion was working and if I liked my job. She decided that my liver was stagnant because of too much stress. When the liver is stagnant, toxins are stored in the back and neck, which is why people get "tension headaches". So far, so good.

In my 5 or so visits, I have found the needles to be a little painful at first, but then give way to all kinds of warm, humming feelings. I feel heavy, exhausted and sometimes see the color yellow. I feel like my back does seem looser, but I still get a few headaches, so I'm not cured yet.

One particularly weird side affect stands out though. This last week I asked to stay a few more minutes with the needles because I felt pretty relaxed and didn't want to go back to work. As soon as Stephanie left, I started to feel funny. My lower half suddenly started feeling unattached to the rest of me and was swinging, like in a hammock. It was a very real sensation, so I closed my eyes to breathe and regroup. As soon as I shut them, BLAMO, I was spinning! Spinning in multiple directions! My entire body felt like it was caught in a gyroscope. I started to panic and I had to lift my arms up to look at them and make sure I wasn't really moving.

I almost cried out for help, but talked myself down and just tried to make peace with the disorienting sensation until she came back. When she did, I told her that I had gone bananas and she quickly took the needles out and waited for it to stop, which it did. She said she couldn't say exactly why that happened, but that it was related to too many toxins being released at once, both in solid and energy (qi) forms... Toxins... Right. I felt pretty sick the rest of the night, but better the next day. Needless to say, I am sticking with it, taking my herbs and hoping that over the long term that this will help both my headaches and my entire self in general.

unsolved mystery

My pants are all tight. Especially my favorite cropped capris from last summer that never quite stretched out as much as I thought they would. The reason for this, I am not sure of. It could be one of two reasons, or perhaps both reasons.

Reason one is my favorite exercise class, Extreme Sculpt with Kimberly on Wednesday nights. I have all but abandon cycling class for this one. We lift weights and do lunges. We jump rope and run on the stair steps. It sounds pretty straight forward, but it isn't. For example, instead of doing chest presses with a bar, we do them with our shoulders propped up on a bench or on a half exercise ball, and have to hold our hips raised in the air while we do them. Instead of having your chest shake and tire, your legs are shaking and tiring at the same time. I am usually sore from this class, sometimes until Sunday morning. I believe that I am getting stronger, especially in the thighs and glutes, therefore, making my pants too tight.

Reason two is a sort of renaissance of foods. There are foods that I used to eat all the time as a youth and even into college. Foods that are not good for you. I left these foods behind on my way to becoming a food snob, preparing things like souffle and marinated pork tenderloin. In recent years, I have eaten organic and fresh, almost all the time. For some strange reason I am craving and integrating some of my old foods back into my diet. Foods like rootbeer, chocolate milk, buttered pancakes, gummy candy and cinnamon toast, which I am eating right now as I type. I once was pouring the cinnamon & sugar mixture onto my buttered toast as a kid, and was caught with a small mountain soaking into my buttered bread. I panicked and told my siblings, soon crowded around the kitchen counter to examine my transgression, that I forgot I was pouring. That gives you an idea of how I like to fix it. I liked to lick some of it off before I ate the bread part. These foods may be contributing to my pants feeling too tight.

There's no way of knowing, really, why. Perhaps it doesn't matter too much, as long as I can still button and have enough pairs of stretchy pants to wear at home.

prix fixe

I skipped breakfast this morning, by choice, for the first time. I was still full from the night before. Still full of the best food I have ever eaten and the fanciest wine to go with it. My head ached slightly and I had stayed up too late. These are the symptoms of overindulgence, wavering on gluttony. I’ll be the first to say that overdoing it a little once and a while is a wonderful thing. It’s how you know you are really living.

My roommates Claire and Melissa and I had a reservation at Canlis at 8pm last night. Claire works there Saturday nights and was generous enough to invite us to share in her annual gift certificate and discounts for a sumptuous night out. Starting at 6, I put on my borrowed dress, dusted off my high heels (I don’t mean this figuratively. They really were dusty. No wonder I don’t have a boyfriend), searched out my bobby pins, and laid all my makeup out on the top of the dresser. We turned the music up and buzzed up and down the stairs looking for earrings, bronzer and just the right shoes.

We set out and arrived at the valet parking where Melissa’s 10 year old, red Pontiac was whisked away. We went in and assembled first in the lounge with a cocktail, then at our table, one of the best in the restaurant. The first course of the chef’s tasting menu was on its way, edamame, avocado and tiger prawns with white miso vinaigrette, accompanied by chilled sake. I was sopping up all of the sauce with an amazingly fluffy and flavorful dinner roll when Mr. Canlis Sr. came up and greeted us, teasing me about cleaning my plate off a little better.

Course two followed shortly after consisting of lobster tail paired with a chardonnay. I took my first taste of lobster, garnished with caviar and asked Claire how I was supposed to ever go back to regular food again. I thought crab was my favorite food, but this was even better. I gasped and sighed with every bite and just kept grinning. The lime and cranberry sorbet got my pallet ready for the next.

After the lobster followed the main course; exceptionally creamy polenta with pretty red and purple vegetable curls on top, king crab on a bed of king oyster mushrooms, and the BEST steak I have ever eaten in my life. I just leaned into my knife and it sailed through all of the tender goodness. This was sampled with a Walla Walla syrah and a Napa cabernet. We had a side of truffle fries to top it off.

By then, I was giggling with delight at the wonderful things that I put into my mouth. The staff, with their crisp cuffs and pressed kimonos were beyond attentive and absolutely wonderful to us. One second you put down your glass and the next it is whisked away and replaced, undetected. I was in disbelief at how much I was enjoying myself in this fancy yet unpretentious place. Dessert was over the top as we shared the creamiest crème brulee, the fluffiest grand marnier soufflé, melty chocolate lava cake and a complimentary bonus ginger pomegranate cheesecake. Oh yeah, and a little Muscat to sip while we rotated plates.

We had a tour of the entire restaurant, took our pictures by the fireplace and were helped into our coats, a luxurious three hours after we had arrived. The car was waiting with the heat on. Never before had I enjoyed such fine dining. Everyone should get to have such an experience at the least, once. And I stress, at the least.

patience by cheesecake

This was a star studded birthday weekend for the Lenssens. Friday - Mother's birthday. Sunday - Ashenafi's 1st birthday. Wednesday is Mark's birthday and we celebrated that too!

To be honest, I'm not sure what we did before Ashen. I know I always enjoyed time with my family. We must have talked and rested and shared ideas. Now we just watch the baby. He's so entertaining. Everything he does or says or even looks at is the cutest thing ever. I know this is how it works with babies, but especially my Ashenafi. He's 100% enchanting. And now he's one year old! On Friday, my mom's birthday, the last pieces of paperwork, whatever they were, we completed at the county courthouse to make Ashenafi all official. Mom went down to see it all happen for my brother and his growing family. I'm pretty sure her grandchild is the best gift she received this year, but the cheesecake I made her was probably the second best thing. More so because of the drama and perseverance that went into the cheesecake.

I really made the effort to get all of the ingredients that I needed at the store Thursday at lunchtime from Whole Paycheck, so I could start baking right away when I got home. I carried all 30 lbs of them home on the bus, excited to set out on a new culinary adventure after a late departure from the office. I started by finding the springform pan that I was sure I had purchased previously at the Goodwill. Where? Is? The? Pan? I looked in every cupboard three times. Nowhere.

I jumped into my car, fortuitously having left my work clothes and shoes on and drove down to the Goodwill, hoping to find another pan since every kitchen store was certainly not open at 8:30pm. Cruising the pan aisle, after just a quick look at the lamps, I came up up empty handed. No springform, no cake pans, nothing. I almost threw a large jar I had found onto the floor out of frustration, thinking that I would have to drive to Southcenter to some godforsaken big box store open till 10 to get a pan. Just in time, it occurred to me that I have an aunt who lives right down the road, and why didn't I think of that before? Aunt Dede really came through for me and within an hour from leaving, I was back in the kitchen.

I got everything out and started to follow the recipe. Graham cracker crumbs and butter, check. 4 blocks of cream cheese at room temp, check. I got to the part where I needed to mix the sugar with the cream cheese and pulled the sugar jar out to find it empty. Sugar! This was not the first time that my baking has been interrupted because of sugar shortage. Who didn't put it on the list and why aren't they here for me to yell at? Foaming at the mouth, I called both of my roommates to complain and try to convince them to come home immediately and bring me sugar. Neither of them jumped at the opportunity so I had to go back out to my car (shoes still on!) and drive down to the Grocery Outlet. Finally, at 10:30, the cheesecake was finished baking and I prayed for it to not crack as I shut the heat off and went to bed. In the morning, of course I found it cracked but thought to myself that it's only by a miracle that I even had a cracked cheesecake at all, so I put it in the fridge and hoped to cover it with fruit for the party that night. It turned out to be quite tasty, and even looked nice, which is the least I could do for my mother, who fed me well for the first 19 years of my life.

Here's Ashenafi with his first piece of funfetti cake (which he nibbled at, then threw onto the floor with charisma) and having a spasm over the talking Elmo toy that he got from his Aunt Rachel. He's the best.

eat the food, tina

Here are two of my favorite recipes for fall parties. The first I have made a few times and received lavish praise for, and the second I have made only once and lavished praise on myself for. I highly recommend either of these crowd pleasers, which contain no ingredients from Kraft or Campbells. They both take a little time, but all good things do.

Green Beans with Walnut Vinaigrette

1/2 cup walnut pieces lightly toasted and finely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 lbs green beans cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup packed coarsely chopped cilantro

Grind or process 1/4 cup walnuts to a paste. Combine with oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic and a pinch of salt. Whisk to blend. Let sit 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

15 minutes before serving, cook the beans in a covered saucepan in an inch of water until tender but still firm, about 5-7 minutes. Rinse with cold water and place in bowl.

Whisk dressing and pour over beans. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Reserve 1 teaspoon cilantro, add remaining to beans and toss. Garnish with remaining walnuts and cilantro. Voila!


















Red Onion and Gorgonzola Flatbreads

1 package yeast
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup semolina flour
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tsp salt, divided
1 red onion
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
4 oz gorgonzola, crumbled

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water (about 100°). Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in flours, 2 tbsp. oil, and 1 tsp. salt. (Dough will be stiff.) Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place to rise until 1 1/2 times its original volume, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, halve onion lengthwise, peel, and thinly slice. In a bowl, combine onion and rosemary with remaining 2 tbsp. oil, the vinegar, remaining 1 tsp. salt, and the chili flakes. Cover; set aside.

Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly sprinkle 2 baking sheets with semolina and set aside. Turn risen dough out onto a floured surface. Knead dough just until it feels smooth, about 10 times. Divide into 32 balls. Set 16 balls aside and cover with plastic wrap; roll the others as thinly as possible. Put 8 rounds on each baking sheet. Top each with a scant 1 tbsp. onion mixture and 1 1/2 tsp. blue cheese. Bake until browned and sizzling, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough balls, onion mixture, and cheese. Serve hot or warm.

wok this way

If I wasn't 3/4 Dutch and 1/4 German, which is a great, tall and blue-eyed thing to be, I would want to be Asian. I loved the small portion of Asia that I saw at this time last year. I love the food, the tidy design and the lovely smiles everyone was wearing. Except in Siam Reap, where things are too intense for everyone to be smiling.

My love for Asia has deepened with time, similarly to how the cooking surface of my new carbon steel wok is going to season into a glorious, non-carcinogenic, non-stick, low-fat delight. I have wanted to purchase a wok for some time, and finally got up the energy to check them out, do some research and make my choice.

I ended up with a flat-bottomed model (instead of round and with a wok ring for the stove) that cost me $20. After reading some information about cast iron vs steel vs anything else, I gathered that the lightweight carbon steel had the best temperature control and longest lifespan. I went with a Taylor & Ng model from Uwajimaya.

This is my first wok meal. I threw some tofu, garlic and onion slices in, then added broccoli, mushrooms and some Chinese egg noodles that I boiled first. For sauce, I made it up. Soy sauce, anchovie paste, lime juice, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, ginger powder and sesame seeds. Totally inappropriate ingredients, but the closest things I had in the cupboard that resembled what I could remember of a nice brown sauce. It was delicious and for the first time I thought that maybe I am not such a poser in the kitchen after all.

In addition to buying a wok and eating a lot of noodles, I am generally fascinated by post and lintel architecture, silk, chopsticks, shoji screens, Hello Kitty, open floor plans, miniaturization, small spaces, and all things clean, simple and quality. I do understand that my perception of a vast and varied culture is limited and probably way off, but it is what it is. That is until I make my way back to Asia, or at least the International District, to find out more. I am ready to travel again, by the way.

the souffle' waits for no man

Look what I made! A chevre and chive souffle'. It was savory, rich and oh-so-puffy. I don't even think I had eaten souffle' before, but the recipe in the Sunset Magazine bonus food section looked so amazing, I had to try it myself. It was pretty easy and really exciting. And did I mention delicious? This was a wonderful way to top off a sunny Sunday where I slept late in my big bed, set pavers in my garden and played a couple of hours of tennis. Did you know that summer started about 10 days ago? Claire and I found out and are trying to spread the word. In fact, a BBQ is in the back of Claire's car headed to the house right now.