Its Spring in Phoenix and our prickly pear is not only about to take over the world, but is also in nearly full bloom. Last year when I noticed a few, literally the first few flowers on the cactus, I was through the roof. Check out this bad boy now! This type of cactus is known to be an aggressive grower, and thankfully it is a hearty beast seeing that it shows no ill effects of the frost this winter. In addition to this glorious bloomer we unfortunately had some noticeably damaged plants/trees in the front and the back yard, but luckily only one out right goner.
Making a quick transition from our front yard, into the kitchen, I wanted to give a little run down on some recent culinary adventures. Per expectation, some have turned out well, some not so well, and some have been full on FAILS. I'll start with the complete fail, carrot-cake cupcakes.
I decided to go with a recipe from a trusted TV personality and ended up with a disappointing oily-sugar-gu. I do not know what went wrong, but within the first few minutes of backing the smell of burning sugar should have been my first sign to abort.
Using my amazing food processor I produced these perfect shreds of carrots, but after all was said and done I ended up with these disgusting oil-sugar-carrot toss-aways. Needless to say I haven't re-attempted carrot cake cupcakes since..
My favorite of the recent attempts is a Roasted Salmon with Soy-Marmalade Glaze (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/salmon-soy-marmalade-glaze-50400000126820/) from cooking light. I enjoyed the flavor of the glaze but most importanly appreciated the darn near perfect cook time which created a tiny bit of crisp while leaving the salmon steaks cooked to perfection. I've tried gently poaching salmon but still manage to dry it out a bit. The roasting/broiling method in the recipe is by far the way to go. I served it with brown rice and a mix of sauteed sweet peas and asparagus.
Next up the most adventuresome, Tempeh and Broccolini stir fry. Tempeh is essentially fermented soybeans smashed into a patty. Yummy sounding I know, but it seems to be all the soy craze so I wanted to give it a try. The temph I used, from Trader Joes, included soybeans, brown rice and barely, smashed together in mini paver-like formation. The best way I can explain the texture is to imagine something like pressed, having been moist at some point but no longer, granola. I know I'm not selling it, but I like its texture when cooked, and like its tofu cousin, it derives most of its flavors, beyond "nutty", from what its cooked with. (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/tempeh-broccolini-stir-fry-50400000119698/). I was a tablespoon short on the Hoisen so I cut back a little on the other ingredients and added some random asparagus, but overall I really enjoyed the dish. Jonathan, well, he wasn't the biggest fan, but its something that will likely be repeated in the Hupp household. Insert semi-maniacal laughter of being the main dinner cook : )
The last two recipes include Granola Cookie wedges, also from Cooking Light (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/granola-cookie-wedges-50400000126849/), and a second attempt at marmalade. The cookie recipe is tasty, but not my favorite cookie texture, since it was bordering on a bit too hardy. The best part about the recipe has to be its dough size and its ease/speed. Because there are so few ingredients, neither a mixer, nor seperated bowls for ingredients are needed. Also, thanks to the pie plate cooking, the overall bake time is quick, and requires minimal fuss. I added more chocolate chips than called for, and a secret ingredient, but would guess the original recipe would produce equally tasty results.
Lastly, my marmalade re-do. Last year, for the very first time, I attempted marmalade. It was made from our grapefruits, could turn even a honey badger's stomach and well, likely could have been used as a warfare projectile it was so stinkin hard. Needless to say I wrangled it out of about 8 mason jars in order to prepare for this year's attempt. Instead of a grapefruit focus I went for something a little more traditional, Orange Marmalade (that included Grapefruits and crystallized ginger). The prep went better, and the cooking went well, but this was my first run with pectin and I might have just missed the mark. The result is mighty sweet, which I, the perpetual sweet-tooth doesn't have too much of an issue with, but unfortunately it never quite thickened/gelled like it should have. Can it still make a cavity inducing tasty toast spread, sure, will I be quitting my day job... not quiet yet.
PS. Just as a quick update, thankfully Toby is back to full health. He's returned to his 5:52 AM on the dot daily wake up calls, is fully active in the house and outside, and is sharing his normal sounding kitty meowing perspective as often as possible. I'm not the biggest fan of the blur in this picture, but proves his back to normal, enjoying life, self.
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