Friday, August 28, 2009

Vivian the Starbucks girl.

I saw this today on Ellen and it made me laugh...alot.

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/videos/?mediaKey=8a76b6a3-47c5-4820-a634-4ac2a01e8f79&isShareURL=true

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Strawberry rhubarb pie

So, this will be my first recipe entry. I have tried making several strawberry rhubarb pies, but none seemed to be all that great until this....my dad said it was the best pie he had ever eaten. Granted, he is a tad biased, but on the other hand, he has eaten alot of pie in his lifetime...

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Filling:
2 1/2 cups chopped red rhubarb, (the original recipe calls for fresh, but I used frozen)
2 1/2 cups de-stemmed, washed and cut strawberries (in larger pieces)
1 1/2 cups sugar (1 1/4 for high altitudes)
2 TBL minute tapioca
1 TBL all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp canilla extract
3 TBL butter, cubed small

Crust: (I use my mom's recipe, this is for a single crust pie, but I usually double it)
1 cup flour
1/3 cup oil
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 TBL water

Directions:
Crust preparation: Mix flour, sugar and salt together. Make a well with flour mixture and then pour oil and water in the middle. Mix the oil and water. Slowly blend in the flour mixture. This crust can be either mixed in the pie pan and then patted to fit or it can be mixed in a bowl and rolled out. Hint: If you roll this crust out, put down a piece of wax paper underneath and on top of the dough, then roll out. I put the crust in the oven to bake for a couple of minutes before I put the filling in just to make sure that it gets done.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Filling preparation: Mix the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, tapioca, flour, lemon juice, dash of cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix well in a large bowl and pour out into chilled crust. Dot the top of the filling with the butter. Roll out a second crust dough and place over filling. Collar with foil and bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Decrease tempearture to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 45-50 minutes, or until the filling starts bubbling. Higher altitude wil take 450 degrees F and 400 degrees F respectively. Let cool before serving.

It's seriously good. I found the recipe for the filling on the Food network. Bon Appetit!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Back to school.

Recently I decided it would be a good idea to go back to school. I decided to further my education in the wonderful and complex world of music. Despite my two year education furlough, I was excited to start my graduate studies. And so, filled with excitement I dashed off to my 9 am class with "plenty of time" to get there.
Apparently, at large universities, there is this thing called traffic. Interesting. I pulled onto campus at 8:50 and somehow didn't make it to my building until 9:03. Also, the parking lot is metered and a line about a hundred feet long has formed to pay...the crowd and I are then forced to watch and wait as the poor girl at the front of the line rummages in her large purse for any nickel she can find. Great. But this wasn't going to get me down, I was going back to school! I was going to make a name for myself! I was going to challenge myself! I...broke my flip flop running to make it to that 9 am class.
At 9:05, I arrived at my 3rd floor Early Music History class sweating, breathing hard, and with only one shoe. And so starts my graduate career...

Monday, August 17, 2009

Bon Appetit!

I recently saw the movie Julie and Julia. I think Julia Child and I have things in common. Oh no, I am not an amazing French chef, I have never deboned a duck, and I have never sent out antique portrait Valentines to all my friends (because why celebrate v-day when it's Arizona's b-day). However, I do believe that we share a bond.

First and foremost, I am currently in the process of mastering Julia Child's voice...it is key to becoming a great chef, or baker.

Also, Julia started cooking to pass the time, she was looking for something to do. I, during a brief time of unemployment, also turned to baking to pass the time (my husband came home one day to find a mound of 5 dozen bran muffins waiting for him). But the baking soon became not a time waster, but instead, a passion, a creative outlet, if you will. Cakes, cookies, brownies, pies...I coninue to explore the wonderland of baked goods, just as Julia did with French food.

I also related to Julie (the contemporary blogger of the movie). It is mostly a strict she has a blog and so do I level. However, Julie has inspired me to continue this blog. Perhaps to have some purpose, other than stories that I find interesting or amusing. I have decided to seek out Julia Child worthy recipes that I have tested and tasted, and to post them here on my blog. Yes, it will be my own project...the Lindsay/Julie project. Maybe someday it will lead to my own baking show...The James of Cakes...

Bon Appetit!