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Mostly Foodies can cook, right? Yes? No? ‘Cause I’m not all that good at the cooking thing. Does that make me not a foodie?

Koshvader can cook. I don’t think that he’s the only foodie in the house, though. Even if he’s the one that keeps buying things like Saffron and Celtic Grey Sea Salt. We also have such things as White Truffle oil and Parmigiano Reggiano. I cook with that oil, so I’m probably a snobby foodie. Either that or I’m a Supertaster. Possibly both.

In any case, from experience I can tell you that Evian in plastic bottles tastes different from Evian in glass bottles. As such, we have been looking for glass bottled Evian for a while now. Apparently it is difficult to locate outside of restaurants. Tonight, we finally found some…in a fancy Christian LaCroix bottle, no less.

Like the big geeks we are, we will be saving this water for our anniversary.

(You can stop giving me that look now. Koshvader doesn’t drink, and really you don’t want to see me after I’ve had Champagne. Really.)

Look! My on-sale griddle and crumpet rings in use!

My Mum has patiently reminded me that I have never posted the pictures detailing my Great Crumpet Experiment. Obviously, I am a terrible daughter and must rectify the situation at once. (Yes…she is on vacation several states away and cannot smack me for my silliness. ha HA!)

Well, last Thursday evening the experiment began. I gathered all my ingredients and followed the directions. I even got to use my poor neglected triple-sifter. Now, I don’t have one of those huge mixer-thingies. That’s okay. My faithful bread bowl and a wooden spoon do just fine. (They are also a great workout for your arms.)

I only remembered to take a picture of the bowl after most of the batter was gone. Sorry.

So, everything seemed to be going well until I realized that the recipe was a bit vague about the amount of heat required for the exercise. As a result, the crumpets did not cook for a mere ten minutes on one side and four on the other. Oh no. It was more like double that. And the first crumpets were too thick anyway.

The first four. Not exactly the Fab Four.

Please note the crumpet at the top left in the picture above. That was when I found out about the time/heat problem. It was the first one I tried to turn over. Also, there were not enough holes forming in the tops of the crumpets. I consulted the recipe and added a wee bit more water to the remaining batter as instructed. The rest of the crumpets came out a bit better. By the time I finished it was after 3:30am. Yes, you read that correctly. The results were alright, but some turned out to be a bit doughy in the middle still. I have attacked this problem by toasting them longer than normal. It mostly works. Next time I will be trying a different recipe, I think. I wasn’t all that happy with this one. I have all kinds of books on Tea and if I don’t have a decent recipe then my Mum will. Heck, I even have a copy of Megdod’s Cookery if you fancy cooking something in a huge pot over an open flame.

Yes. My family is all about Tea. Why do you ask? I’ll probably make scones before I try crumpets again, but in the meantime I can have crumpets for breakfast that I made myself. er…So there.

The final product. Ta Da!

There you go. The suspense is over. I made crumpets!

Crumpet

I was just making dinner, and I remembered this from Saturday Morning TV. Remember…don’t drown your food.

Today I came home from work slightly before 10pm, discovered that we needed cat food, and then…my blood sugar suddenly dropped through the floor.

Like: Boom! No blood sugar! Instant Grizzly.

It was not comfortable. At all. I hate the shaking and inability to concentrate. And worse yet? The mood swing and the lack of quick consumables in the fridge. Well, ones that I could comprehend anyway.

Did you know that I had no pickles? Pickle relish, yes. Branston Pickle, yes. Pickles, no. This fact was very important to me for some reason as I stood staring into the fridge. How was I supposed to eat I toasted cheese sandwich with no sweet pickles? That’s just barbaric!

Well…I did. And then I went to the grocery store with my Mother-in-law. Bless the woman for a saint. The eating didn’t quite fix everything (weirdly enough) but I was human enough to get stuff at the store. Once we returned home, I had a sweet pickle. Oh, and a bit of chocolate. And then? Things looked a lot better.

Sometimes I wonder about my body.

Sometimes it’s good to be Norm. You remember Norm from “Cheers,” right? He was one of the regulars. When he walked into the Bar, people would greet him by name. His drink would appear as if by magic. Well, KoshVader and I frequent the Clay Oven in San Mateo. “Frequent” is really the appropriate term. We’re in there all the time. Once, we came in the door and the fellow behind the register said “You want the usual?” I said, “Yes.” And that was it. KoshVader missed this interaction and was wondering if we would be getting menus (which we never read anyway). I explained what had happened, and he was much amused.

Well, today I called in sick (or rather, broken) because I couldn’t get out of bed. I was a bit stiff, you see. It made it quite difficult to sit up. Eventually, after a practical application of painkiller, I got enough range of motion to pop out to Best Buy. KoshVader didn’t want to go by himself. By the time we got home I was, not to put too fine a point on it, a wreck. My sweetie was starving. Neither of us were in any condition to cook or go get food. So, I called the Clay Oven. They deliver, but not usually over this far.

They recognized my order. The fellow even asked if I wanted Garlic Naan. And they’re bringing us food. Bless them.

Clay Oven

My sinus pressure is back. In despair (and…silliness, really) I tried one last thing. It would seem that eating really high end fondue helps…but only while you’re there eating.

Mind you…it could have been the wine, coffee, and/or the garlic.

Results inconclusive. Obviously we must run the test again.

(Lets hope that the Nyquil Sinus has more long reaching effects for all that it lacks atmosphere and garlic.)

(This was originally posted over on one of my LJ accounts on 25 September 2006. I liked what we did on our one and only cheese (and tea) party, so I’m posting it over here, too, for posterity. For this report, and indeed in all future postings, I shall be referring to my Husband as “KoshVader” as it is his preferred handle.)

The Cheese Review Party

Here are the results of a cheese tasting party we had during the weekend.
It was a great deal of fun, and we even cleansed our palates between cheeses with lemon sorbet. It was very classy. Well..at least it tasted that way.
Sadly, I do not have a copy of all four sets of reviews, so I will only be reporting two sets here.

1. Pierce Point from Cowgirl Creamery
Like most of the cheeses that we tried, I found this one at Whole Foods. This was a subtle and creamy artisan cheese.
The rind is very colorful, as it is covered in herbs. I rated this cheese a 4 out of a possible 5. KoshVader gave the cheese a 3.5 without any further notes.

2. Shropshire Blue (which apparently has nothing to do with Shropshire, but in fact originated at the Castle Stuart Dairy in Inverness during the 1970s) It is in the blue cheese family, but is more of a medium blue. And it’s orange, or at least dark yellow. It should be noted here that I am not a fan of bleu cheese. This one, however rated a 3 in my book. I really rather enjoyed it. KoshVader gave it a 4.0. I have also been informed by the rest of our group (they conducted a bit of independent research today on the subject) that Shropshire Blue makes a decedent grilled cheese sandwich. This cheese was one of the three requested at this tasting, as it had been enjoyed in a previous cheese flight.

3. Pave d’Affinois from Fromager d’Affinois. This is the second cheese that was requested to appear at the tasting. I am so very glad that it did. I gave this cheese a 4.5. Subtle, soft, and, in my opinion, an excellent brie substitute. Very spreadable…and it turns out that it is very good when toasted on a crumpet. Anyway, KoshVader rated the Pave d’Affinois a lowly 3.0, the lowest rating on his list. I’m thinking that he won’t mind that I have now eaten most of it.

4. Humboldt Fog from Cypress Grove Chevre in Arcata, CA is the final cheese that was requested for this tasting. I found this cheese to be smooth, creamy, and quite tangy. I gave it a 4, and I haven’t quite decided what would be the best way to use the rest of it. KoshVader gave it a 3.5. Now I am curious to try the other cheeses offered by this company.

5. White Stilton with Lemon Zest from Long Clawson Dairy is the cheese which I purchased for me. Yes, I admit it. I love this cheese so much, I added it to our tasting, because I wanted to share it with the others. This is a great dessert cheese. Sweet, chewy, and tangy it is very good with fruit. Try it with apple slices for an afternoon pick-me-up. Yes, I gave it a 5. KoshVader gave this cheese a 4.5. I don’t think he’s tried it with fruit yet.

6. Sottocerene Al Tartufo is a mysterious cheese that has been rubbed with black truffle oil. It was KoshVader’s choice to add to the tasting. If you are at all familiar with the scent of truffles, just unwrapping this cheese will give you a hint of what is to come. The smell alone is enough wake up your senses. This cheese does not disappoint. Both KoshVader and I chose this as our favorite cheese of the tasting. I gave it a 5, but he only gave it a 4.9. I’m not quite sure why. We do agree, however, that this savory cheese would make a lovely fondue.

7. Wisconsin Cheddar 4yr from Widmer is the only cheese that we didn’t find at Whole Foods. It came from Draegers, land of yummy food…for example, actual truffles. This cheddar is sharp, but not overpowering. I gave it a 4. I’m thinking it would make great home-made mac and cheese. KoshVader liked it more than I did, and gave it a 4.5.

I hope that we get to do this again sometime, but not for a bit. A cheese habit would prove quite expensive I’m thinking…

Cheese, Pierce Point, Cowgirl Creamery, Shropshire Blue, Pave d’Affinois, Fromager d’Affinois, Humboldt Fog, Cypress Grove Chevre, White Stilton with Lemon Zest, Long Clawson Dairy, Sottocerene Al Tartufo, Wisconsin Cheddar, Widmer, Whole Foods, Draegers

I decided to give Annie Chun’s Miso Soup a try. You see, I love miso soup. I get it every time I go out for Japanese food. There’s just something comforting about that little bowl of soup, you know. Most make-at-home Miso Soup kits have MSG in them, and I’m allergic. Annie Chun’s Miso Soup kit is MSG free. I finally tried it today for lunch, and here are my observations.

* The noodles are too big. It’s sort of like attack of the killer Udon.
* The soup itself is okay, but doesn’t really measure up to the stuff I’m used to.
* The tofu is gross, and the little green onion bits are not good.

So, I conclude that will drink the broth, but I won’t be trying this one again. Maybe Annie Chun does a good hot and sour soup?

This has been a Random Food Review from a picky eater.

I know that this blog is called “Tea and Complexity,” (not “Coffee and Complexity” …though that has a good ring to it as well) but I just have to say that there is one coffee that I enjoy a great deal. Too bad that I have to have it sent from Kauai. The Kauai Coffee Company’s Estate Roasted Kauai Blue Mountain is a really nice way to start my day. I’ve been drinking another of their coffees recently (as they were out of Blue Mountain at the time that my friends in Kauai popped by to get me more coffee) the Estate Roasted Kauai Koloa Estate which amazingly doesn’t taste like complete drek when cold. Now, though, I have no coffee left. Oh, the pouting! I believe that I have some online shopping to do.