ChezSylvia

This weekend I went on a home furnishings buying binge in an attempt to make my place look a little more like someone actually has been living there for the past 6 months.  My father has been super helpful in helping me pick out, transport and assemble many of my pieces.  To repay him, I asked him what he would like for dinner since he was going to be over helping me with a lot of tasks around the house.  He said he wanted Cornish Hen.  A quick google of cornish hen brought me to this recipe by Ina Garten for Cornish Hen with Corn Bread Stuffing.

Since there were three of us for dinner, I decided to make four.  I doubled her corn bread stuffing recipe.  I used cornbread loaves from Stew Leonards.  Each loaf is just a hair over one cup.  The stuffing was simple to make and everything came together really easily.  I omitted the parsley because I forgot to pick some up while I was food shopping.  My bad, but I don’t think anyone missed it.

I didn’t have any twine to tie the legs together, so I simple used my scissors and snipped a small slit in each side of the skin in the back.  Then I just tucked each leg through the slit.  It was a little tough for the first one since it took a lot of snips to get through the many layers of skin, but, by the fourth one, I was a pro.

Hens lathered in canola oil with salt, pepper and dried thyme were plopped on sliced onions, then into the oven they went.  I only had so many onions, and ended up using two roasting pans, so it was a bit sparse.  Make sure you get a good layer of veggies on the bottom.  I don’t think it has to be just onions, but maybe some onions, carrots and artichoke hearts (frozen) would be nice.  As long as they were quick roasters.  If you wanted to use potatoes, just make sure they are cut small enough, otherwise, you’ll have done hens, and not done potatoes!

According to Ina Garten’s recipe, it should take about a half hour to cook.  Mine did not.  After a half an hour, I checked, and the juices were running clear, but the temperature at the thigh was only clocking in around 140.  I believe poultry needed to be around 160 before it was done.  So I popped it back in for another 10 minutes.

10 minutes later, temperature was hovering around 160, but at the puncture point from the thermometer, the juices were now running red, and not clear.  Back in the oven it went.

After doing a round of dishes (about 10 minutes later), I checked again.  Now it was registering above 165.  Done right?  I let it rest for a few minutes (we were hungry and getting impatient), and it seemed that all juices were running clear.  Upon eating it was discovered that it might not have been done as much as I would have liked.  Still edible (or at least I’ll find out in a few hours), but it wouldn’t have hurt to keep it in another 10 minutes or so, which would put total roasting time at about an hour.

The cornbread stuffing was delicious and a great base to serve the hen on.  The onions caramelized nicely and were a nice addition to the hens.  I also had a couple of sides I threw together:  Broccoli Rabe with garlic and golden raisins and a red potato, purple potato, carrot mix.

Overall, it was a good dinner.  I don’t know if I’d make Cornish hens for more than one person again.  If there are two or more people to serve, why not just make one chicken instead?  It would be much more cost effective.  As a single gal, it would probably be nice to make one hen instead of one chicken.

I saved the carcasses from the hens and threw them in the freezer for stock.  Tis the season for poultry, so I’m saving all the bones to make some stock at the end of all these big dinners.  Less waste!

And now, with all these new furniture additions, at least it helps cut down on the echo 🙂

I’ve been to Hong Kong quite a few times. In the past three years, annually, and before that, every now and then. Some people argue that once you’ve seen one big city, you’ve seen them all. On the outside, I agree, but what they don’t realize is that cities are like people too. On the outside they all share the same physical characteristics: densely populated, tall buildings, noise, people everywhere, a frantic vibe that runs through the air. But deep on the inside, every city has its own unique personality, a pulse only those who live there understand, a way of life not evident to the passing tourist, its own smell, sounds, sites and a magic that you cannot find elsewhere.

This time I return with my travel buddy Liz.  We have traveled together since college.  We explored as much of London as possible in a 2.5 day weekend and made it back in time to attend a Monday afternoon class of the Fundamental of Aerodynamics (oh to be young again!).  We’ve taken weekend trips to Vermont to learn how to snowboard, trips to the depths of Jersey to run, to DC, just cause, and to Seattle for the hell of it.  No longer in college, and now with more responsibilities in life, our traveling has decreased.  So this trip was going to be, in the words of Barney Stinson, legen…wait for it…dary.

We did as much as we could in the 8 days we were here.  I tried to show Liz the Hong Kong I enjoyed by hitting the major tourists sites, but at the same time going off the beaten path as well.  Not being of Chinese descent, it was very interesting to see how the little things I never thought much about were so new to her.  As we explored as much as we could, she kept a running list of tid bits an American in Hong Kong should know about.  Here is here guide:

The Liz Guide to Hong Kong:

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When I cook for myself, I get pretty lazy.  I don’t care what it looks like, or how good it is.  I’m the only one who has to look at it and eat it.  As long as it gets the job done.

Today was no exception, but it actually turned out really yummy!  I had to make a note of this.

For the grains, I used about half a bag of Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains Blend.  It’s a really good grain to keep in the pantry for a quick base for a meal.  It has Israeli Style cous cous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans and red quinoa.  Super hearty and a healthy alternative to rice or pasta.

I made it according to the directions.  They call for a tablespoon of butter to be added to the water, but I used slightly less. Don’t skimp too much on the butter though, it really does make a difference in the flavor.

With butter in the grains, I lightly sauteed my chopped up summer squash (fresh from the White Plains farmers market) in a light drizzle of olive oil.  It was what I had left in the bottle.  I also threw a touch of salt in the pan as well as a good couple of turns of the pepper grinder.  I let that cook a couple of minutes, then I threw in my leftovers from last night.

Last night, I roasted up a mix of purple potatoes (cut into small pieces), small onion (cut into chunks), and a small striped eggplant (also all from the farmers market).  I tossed everything in olive oil, kosher salt and lots of french thyme.  It took about 45 minutes to finish.  I had leftovers, so I tossed some of that in with the squash to warm it up.

Once the veggie mix was done, a little salt and more thyme was added.  The grains were done and into a large mixing bowl it went.  I added the veggie mix and I lightly squeezed some juice out of half a lemon I had left over from spaghetti night (FYI: if you make your own quick sauce…freshly grated lemon zest is an amazing addition).  I also crumbled up the rest of a block of feta cheese I had sitting in my fridge.  Toss it all together, and voila!  Dinner!

It was really good.  Everything melded together nicely, and the thyme gave it ample flavor, and the small pat of butter really flavored the grains well, and the small bites of feta kept it all from being too bland.  The eggplant was my favorite part.  The eggplant was buttery, and really took on the flavor of the olive oil.  Until recently, I was not a fan of eggplant due to my experience with how my mother prepared it while I was growing up.  The chinese like to cook everything to death, and eggplant was no exception.  It always came out limp and slimey, and not only looked unappetizing, but tasted unappetizing as well (My mom is a great cook, so it wasn’t her cooking, I’ve seen others prepare it this way too).  After so many years, I am glad I gave it another try.  Roasting it is so far my favorite way to prepare it.

It was quick, simple, healthy and hearty.  There were enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow, which is always sweet!

I’ll have to try it again sometime.  Maybe I’ll try it with rosemary!

PS.  Dessert was an apple I picked when I went apple picking last weekend.  Paired with a nice dollop of Nutella.  Yum!

We all know I have this problem with bananas. They ripen up faster than I can eat them! I, again, found myself with three super ripe bananas that I needed to do something with. And honestly, I had more bananas in the freezer as is than I really should have.  So, I ran out and grabbed a small container of yogurt and set out to make a banana nut muffin my parents really like.

This recipe is from Americas Test Kitchen: Family Baking Book. I really like their Family Cookbook and many of the recipes found in the Baking Book are also found in the Cookbook. There is nothing truly authentic in there, just very easy to make versions. I like it as a reference book as well as a cookbook.

This recipe is based on their Banana Bread. When I make it, I usually just portion it off into a muffin tin and just make 12 muffins instead of one loaf. Two reasons. First, it’s portioned so no knife needed for each individual’s interpretation of how large a slice should be. Second, it bakes in 20 minutes as opposed to an hour+.

However, when I finally made it home to make these muffins, I found I did not have my muffin tin. I thought I did, but I thought wrong. While staring wistfully at the loaf pan and wondering how much sleep I really needed to remain functional, I remembered my trusty 8×8. Since it would give more surface area for the batter, it wouldn’t take as long as a loaf, and only slightly longer than a muffin tin! My parents wouldn’t care what it looks like, as long as it was yummy.  In the end it looked more like a snack cake than a bread, hence the snack bread.

So here it is. Presented complete with all my substitutions:

Banana Nut Snack Bread

First gather the following:
1.5 cups all purpose flour 0.5 cups whole wheat flour
0.5 cups sugar
0.75 teaspoon Baking Soda
0.5 teaspoon salt
3 large super ripe bananas, mashed (NOTE: If you are using super ripe (black) bananas, adjust the sugar accordingly. The riper it is, the sweeter it is)
6.5 tablespoons butter, browned and slightly cooled.
2 large eggs
0.25 cup greek yogurt (you can also just use plain non-fat yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Three very large handfuls of walnuts, toasted in the pre heated oven for 5 min and cooled, then chopped course (Or I just toast up some Walnut baking pieces already chopped up for my use)
Spoonful of sugar mixed with a little cinnamon to make some cinnamon sugar.

Then do this:
Set oven to 350 degF and grease up an 8×8 pan with some of the browned butter (brushing is preferred, but a paper towel does the job too.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry stuff: All purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all the wet stuff: Mashed banana, browned butter, eggs, yogurt and vanilla.

Pour the wet stuff into the dry stuff and gently fold the wet stuff in with the dry stuff. When it starts to look like it’s just coming together, throw in two handfuls of the walnuts and finished folding. Don’t overmix, it should be clumpy and look just a touch floury.

Pour it into the greased 8×8, top with the remaining walnuts and sprinkle on some cinnamon sugar to your liking.

Into the oven it goes for about 30-35 minutes. Once a poke in the center comes out clean, it’s done. Let it sit in the pan, on a cooling rack until cool enough to handle, then carefully flip it out and let it cool, facing up, until you can break off a piece and enjoy it. Let it cool completely before packing.

In the end, the bread was delicious, with lots of banana running throughout. It was also nice and moist. The use of greek yogurt over regular plain made no difference (less sugar, more protein in Greek yogurt!) The browned butter made a noticeable difference, and you can taste it on the edges of the bread due to greasing the pan with it also. Next time I would add a touch more sugar, only because my bananas, while being ripe, weren’t black. Maybe more cinnamon sugar topping!

The moon on the morning of the Toughman, September 11, 2001

This summer hasn’t been great in terms of my running.  Running hasn’t felt good in months, and every time I get myself out there, it felt more like a chore than an activity I enjoyed.  Things change, people change, life changes.  Was this something that was changing too?

The other day, I did my first pre dawn run of this coming up winter season.  The route was a new one.  Since moving here, it has taken me awhile to settle down on a solid morning route.  This one was what I finally chose, but running it with the sun faintly peeping through the trees is so much different than when it was dark.

This morning I was chasing street lamps.

I wore my reflective vest, grabbed a small flashlight and took off.  About a little less than 2 miles in, I was just cresting the last of the uphill climb.  I stopped focusing on the road, and the next thing I knew, I was falling, and no way to catch myself.  I hit the ground hard.  I was stunned, and my front teeth were in enough pain to mask any pain elsewhere.  All I was concerned about were my throbbing teeth.  They weren’t bleeding, but something wasn’t right.  Once I cautiously ran/walked my way back to my building, I stopped at the first mirror I saw in the lobby.  I didn’t lose any teeth, but I did chip my front tooth.  A great thing to have if you are a single, almost thirty, woman.  In the final survey of the damage, I escaped this fall with a chipped tooth, some road rash on my thighs, a small deep cut on my hand and a sore neck and arms.  It could have been much worse.

I fell, it happens, but what now?

I was able to get my tooth repaired after work on the same day.  A quick and painless procedure.  It’s a little rough on the back of the tooth now, and it serves as a little reminder of what happens when I get careless.  Thankfully my mother didn’t see the chip, but now she nags me about taking it easy and to only run when it’s light out.  With the upcoming winter, that would mean I’d have to put running on the proverbial shelf.

The next day, I decided to attempt another run.  This time, back to the basics, no watch, no time goal.  I gathered Leeroy and we both set out to finish a run we never completed back in July.  It was the hottest day of the year, and overconfidence on my part practically put him in heat stroke.

With the temperature barely at 50 degF this morning, we tried again.  It was a slow going as we were both trying to get used to running with each other again.  The squirrels were out in force and constantly tempting Leeroy to the point where he forgets his name and just takes off.  After pulling, yelling and climbing for a good couple of miles we started coasting downhill, which flattens out and cuts through a wide open field occasionally used for the cows.  Today, there were a smattering of cows in the pasture to our right, grazing away.  To the left, the field was wide open with a few large trees dotting the perimeter.  Behind me the sun was out full force, warming me up after spending all that time under the cool shade of the woods.  In front of me, in the cloudless blue sky, was the moon.  It was about 9am, and the moon was high in the sky blending softly into the blue.  The only sounds I heard were the soft crunch of my feet over the small rocks in the dirt path and Leeroy happily trotting next to me.

I stopped to soak it all in.

For a moment there, I forgot about everything.  Everything that was happening, had happened and needed to happen.  For a moment, I marveled at the moon, listened to Leeroy’s soft panting through the sound of the breeze through the grass, and soaked in the warmth from the sun.  This is why I run, and this is why I will continue to run.

Tomorrow I will buy a headlamp.