Proud new owner...

...of my own domain name!

It's currently in transition - probably for a couple of days - but I'm the new owner of http://www.throwingspoons.com.  Wheeeeee!

Here, piggy piggy piggy

I discovered a pork tenderloin recipe last year, near the beginning of my weight-loss campaign, in my quest for reasonably healthy recipes. I've tweaked it to make it my own. A little sweet, with enough spice to add a good punch of flavor, I think this is just delicious.

Marinated Pork Tenderloin

18 ounces (1.125 pounds) pork tenderloin
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 c. orange juice
2 1/4 teaspoons curry powder (I use Madras curry)
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced (or 3/8 teaspoon garlic powder)

Mix all marinade ingredients together in a Ziploc freezer bag.
Add the pork; refrigerate for 3 hours or more.
Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Cook pork with marinade in a casserole dish (basting occasionally if desired - not necessary) for about 45 minutes - 1 hour. Pork should register an internal temperature of 160˚F.

Per 3 oz. per serving:
Fat: 5.5g
Carbs: 32.6g
Calories: 283.7
Protein: 24.1g

Cheezburger in Paradise

One of my favorite sites to visit is http://icanhascheezburger.com. It's pictures of cats (and other assorted animals) in funny poses, with even funnier captions. The captions are in "LOL-speak," so they're sometimes a little hard to read, but they're usually quite funny.

I decided this morning to submit my own darling kitty's picture. If you'd like to vote for it, I'd love your support; you don't have to register to do so. If not, just enjoy!

Jedi Cat

Rice Pudding: The ultimate comfort food

I spent my second snowday of the year cozy in my jammies for most of the day, surfing the web and knitting (though not at the same time). Comfort foods seemed to me to be the order of the day, so I decided to make something I don't often have the time to make: my mom's baked rice pudding. It takes no time to mix up, but requires three and a half hours in the oven, and needs some attention during the first hour in the oven.

There's a fabulous article about rice pudding - specifically, Northern or New England baked rice pudding - that I found earlier today; it's from the blog of the "World's most popular blogging anesthesiologist," Joe. (He mentioned, when I spoke with him via email, that there will be another rice pudding post this coming week. 'Tis the season, I guess.)

If you don't have the time to read the article (and it's worth it), I will mention this, which is a key point: baked rice pudding is not your typical diner-style rice pudding. It's baked for a looong time, and develops a lovely, almost butterscotch or dulce de leche flavor to it. It's delicious warm, but I love it cold for breakfast (or as a snack, or lunch, or...you get the point). (My kitty cat has discovered that he likes rice pudding, too. Weirdo.)



I use my mother's recipe, which is straight from her Fannie Farmer cookbook. I, too, own a copy of Fannie Farmer; in fact, it was the very first cookbook I ever purchased. Imagine my dismay when I discovered, probably 15 years ago, that my copy's version of Baked Rice Pudding was DIFFERENT from my mother's! Nutmeg instead of vanilla? Sacrilege! I immediately called Mum and obtained the "correct" recipe, and promptly wrote it in my copy of Ms. Farmer's cookbook.

We (Mum and I) have also discovered over the years that different types of rice can significantly alter the outcome of this dish; I prefer Carolina Extra Long Grain.

Baked Rice Pudding

4 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup rice (Carolina Extra Long Grain)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 300˚F. Put all of the ingredients into a buttered baking dish and stir to blend. Bake for 3 1/2 hours, stirring three times during the first hour of baking so the rice doesn't settle.

Goodbye, Thin Mints

My friend Melanie may be dismayed by the title of this post, as she's my source for Girl Scout cookies. Around here, pre-sales for those cookies have already begun; I placed an order earlier this week. Oddly, perhaps providentially, I didn't order any Thin Mints.

A couple of my students are going to be moving to a new classroom. One has been with me for two and a half years, the other for a year and a half. Though I think it'll be a great opportunity for growth for both of them, I'm sad to see them leave. As tomorrow is their last day, I wanted to bring in their favorite cookies to share with the class. I ran a "Random Cookie Poll" earlier today, to get everyone's favorites. I was hoping for something easy, but it was not to be. One listed oatmeal chocolate chip as her favorite; not a problem. The other one, however, presented more of a challenge: chocolate mint.

"Like Thin Mints?"
"Yep."

Oooookay. My search began when I got home, and I hit upon this recipe: chocolate cookies with a hint of mint, iced with melted Andes mints. They're really, really good - I hope my boy likes them as much as I do.



Chocolate Mint Cookies

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
36 Andes mints

In a large pan over low heat, cook butter, sugar and water until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a large bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool off slightly.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, and set aside.

At high speed, beat eggs, one at a time, into chocolate mixture. Add peppermint extract. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients, beating until blended. Chill dough about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350˚F (175˚C).

Roll dough into 1" balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes. While cookies are baking, unwrap mints and divide each in half. When cookies are removed from oven, put 1/2 mint on top of each cookie. Let the mint sit for up to 5 minutes until melted, then spread the mint on top of the cookie. Remove cookies to cooling racks.

If you find that the chocolate isn't setting, pop the cooled cookies into the fridge for about ten minutes, You can then store them with waxed paper between the layers.

Yep, she's crazy.

The plan for tonight: meatloaf. Not so crazy in and of itself, but I'm not making my standard meatloaf. Nope. For whatever reason, I've had a hankering for haggis, so I'm going to try making a haggis-esque meatloaf.

I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that you've never seen the term "haggis-esque" anywhere else.

UPDATE:

First things first. "What IS haggis?" you ask? Oh. Well. The polite way of describing it is a Scottish delicacy that's similar to a sausage. It's basically, um, sheep innards, boiled and minced, mixed with oats and spices, stuffed into a sheep's stomach, and boiled. Doesn't it sound delicious? It's traditionally served with neeps and tatties, or mashed turnips and potatoes.

*Waits for everyone to stop being completely grossed out.*

I've got a little Portuguese and French blood, but I'm mostly Scottish and English. I went to Great Britain when I was a senior in high school, and was one of the brave few to try the haggis at the ceilidh we attended - and I loved it. When Chuck and I went to Scotland for our honeymoon, I ate haggis every chance I got. Sadly, it's not easy to obtain on this side of the pond.

I'm waiting for the potatoes to finish cooking, but the meatloaf is done, and I just tried it. While it's certainly not true haggis, it is most definitely "haggis-esque." I think it's great, and Chuck said he loves it, but then again we like haggis in the first place. If the idea of trying real haggis is a little much for you, but you're curious about it, perhaps give this a shot instead.

I made this batch with 90% lean ground beef; as it's a bit dry, I might bump that down to 80 or 85% next time (or add more milk). I'm guessing it would be even better with ground lamb. Like most meatloaves, amounts of this or that are flexible to taste. Do make sure you use steel-cut oats, and not rolled or quick oats; they give it a nice chew that is very reminiscent of haggis.

"Haggis" Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup steel-cut oats, toasted on a cookie sheet in a 375˚F oven for 10 minutes

1 egg

1 cup milk

3/4 - 1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon dried whole thyme

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon allspice

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Thoroughly mix all ingredients in large bowl. Turn into loaf pan and smooth gently.

Bake at 350˚F for approximately one hour, or until internal temperature reaches 160˚F. Let stand for several minutes before serving.

If ya gotta go, that's the way to go.

This was the last thing I ate in 2007:



A Julia Child recipe, this ring of pâte à choux - the kind of pastry you use for cream puffs or éclairs - was filled with orange pastry cream, topped with chocolate and fresh raspberries, and served with fresh raspberry coulis on the side. Absolutely to die for. Thanks, Ted and Wendy!

I think it's time to start the diet back up.

Also: extra-super-bonus points to whomever can tell me the origin of the post title (and it has nothing to do with those awful "Gotta go right now" ads).