Why is Devon writing The Green Notebook?

Two reasons. Mostly. I have a blog--The Yellow Notebook--but have noticed that blogs with specific goals seem to shine. So I decided that I would blog about the next two-and-a-half years as we work REALLY hard at squeezing my husband through nursing school while randomly making money, consistently saving ourselves money, raising small children, writing a novel, dealing with the current economy, trusting God and deepening our friendships, et al. Watch the balancing act! Also, my friends have been complaining that blogs tend to be, well... life edited. So I am going to try NOT to edit out the things that make us a real family with real financial and other struggles. And in this ring...

By the way, I have not named my children "Boy" and "Girl." I just like to refer to them that way on the blog. I also refer to my nephew as "Baby."

And here is my tagline:
What economy? Or Diary of a Young, Urbanite, Apolitical, Lower-Income, Middle-Class, Writer, Foodie, Artist, Stay-at-Home Mom.

*If you want to know our story and the protracted story of this blog, see the entry from January 17, 2010, titled appropriately "Our Story."





Sunday, November 6, 2011

When All Else Fails

My life has been a flurry of holidays, busyness, fall cleaning, and fevers, which is why there has been no blogging. But the festivities have produced four recipes that I would like to immortalize.


Butterbeer
(Published originally by FoxNews after the Harry Potter World of Wizarding opening. Can be served chilled, as here, or warm... or even frozen.)

-In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 1 cup brown sugar with 2 tablespoons water. Bring to a gentle boil and stir often until temperature reaches 240F.
-Stir in 6 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar, and 1/4 cup cream, until butter is melted.
-Set mixture aside to cool, then add in 1/2 teaspoon rum extract.
-In a mixing bowl, beat 1/2 cup cream with 2 tablespoons of the butterrum mixture until beginning to whip, but not completely into a whipped cream.
-To serve, divide butterrum into four large ale mugs, and stir in 1 cold bottle of cream soda (total 4) to each mug. Top with whip.


My Favorite Candy

-On wax paper, set out 100 un-broken, small pretzels.
-Dip a corner of each pretzel into your favorite peanut butter, and don't overdo it. Lay back out as your go.
-Melt 2 bars dark chocolate, either in a microwave, a double-boiler, or--my preferred--a convection oven, stirring frequently.
-Dip the peanut butter corner of each pretzel into the chocolate to coat the corner. Lay back out as your go.
-In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together 3/4 cup sugar, scant 1/2 cup brown rice syrup, pinch of salt, and 1/4 cup cream. Bring to 240F.
-Add in another 1/4 cup cream and a dash of vanilla. Continue heating until 260F.
-Remove caramel from heat and let sit just until right consistency. When it is still liquid but not too runny, quickly dip with a spoon and drizzle caramel over all the pretzels.
-Let pretzels sit until completely hardened. When done, transfer to a seal-able container and eat at leisure.


Refrigerator Caramel Fudge

-In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, combine 2 1/2 cups sugar and 1/2 cup cold water. Bring to a boil and let boil for 9 minutes without stirring.
-Add 2 cups cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Boil slowly until 235F, which should take 1/2 hour-2 hours.
-Turn out in a "walled" container lined with wax paper.
-Store in the fridge and cut off a piece whenever you fancy one.


Cream and Wine Risotto OR Blue Cheese and Walnut Risotto

-In a large sauce pan, saute a small minced onion and 2 cloves slivered garlic in 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter.
-Add 3 cups arborio rice and stir into oil.
-Add 1 cup white wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently.
-Continue to add chicken stock by the 1/2 cup every time the rice has almost absorbed the liquid. You could end up adding about 4 cups stock and maintaining a simmer throughout. When the rice is cooked through and creamy, move on the the final step.
-Stir in 4 tablespoons parmesan cheese, 4 tablespoons butter, and 4 tablespoons neufchatel or mascarpone, until everything has melted. Taste for salt and pepper.
-If you want to go the extra mile, stir in 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Top with parsley.

0 comments:

Post a Comment