January Cookery

I have been cooking a lot lately. Not very advanced or gourmet but I've been trying a lot of new foods and recipes.

Jan 3 - I had been craving artichokes for a long time and ever since watching Julie & Julia I've wanted to make Julia Child's hollandaise sauce. My verdict: never make that nasty sauce. It's nasty. But the artichokes were good.

Jan 8 - had a weird and sudden hunger for salmon. So, Lamoni made a wonderful baked salmon with lemon and herbs and I made an olive oil, basil, and tomato pasta to go alongside. It was so delicious.

Jan 13 - made Mexican-Style garlic soup. I think I burned the garlic because it tasted...not the best.

Jan 15 - helped make tostadas with Lamoni and his brothers. Except they did most of the actual work. I just helped mash beans and chop stuff.

Jan 18 - I think that I have at long last perfected the portions of my gnocchi recipe. It's not really my recipe but when you're not given any portions to begin with it makes it a little difficult. Anyway, I made a lot of gnocchi and stuck most of it in the freezer. You can never have too much gnocchi. I gave it to Manda and Ivan. Hopefully, Ivan will not think less of me because of it. His mother's gnocchi is legendary.

Jan 22 - made a chayote and garbanzo bean salad. Chayote is a discovery I made in the Mexican markets. It is shaped like a pear but has the texture of an apple and the taste of a cucumber...kind of. The chayote was pretty good but the salad was not that great. I think I have a tendency to put too much garlic in things.

Jan 24 - made shrimp stir fry with Jenny. Not too difficult but pretty tasty and we were able to use leftovers. I guess that is one of the joys of stir fry.

I have also been making corn tortillas from scratch. They are super easy and way more delicious than the kind you by in the store. I've already gone through a whole bag of maseca corn flour (MASECA!). I have yet to see if they hold up in making egg tacos (Dad, Maddie-I'll let you know) Mmm, delicious.

Jan 26 - Abby came over to do laundry and we made a lemon (ish) pie concoction. Graham cracker crust, a can of sweetened condensed milk, and lemon juice. It was delish. I also tried my hand at homemade tortilla chips from homemade tortillas. They were a little thick but tasted pretty good. I also made home made hummus (without a blender!) I probably could have used a recipe though....

Jan 27 - Abby made some delicious "loco coco." It was some good hot chocolate. I'm not sure why it was loco. And I didn't really make it but I figured I'd throw it into this list.

Jan 29 - Abby, Lamoni and I made steamed dumplings and chocolate truffles. The following is a conversation that took place when we walked in the door.
Jenny: "What are you up to?"
Amy: "We going to make Asian dumplings!"
Jenny (with a smirk and a chuckle): "Of course you are. Dumplings."
Amy: "And we're going to make chocolate truffles."
Jenny: "Ah! Now that's what I'm talking about."
Amy (as she is gathering food): "Jenny thinks I cook weird stuff."
Abby: "Amy, you do cook weird stuff. You made garlic soup, remember?"

The dumplings were pretty good, and the truffles were quite good. I think I'll make them again sometime. Perhaps for Valentine's Day gifts? Hmm...