Where were we last week???

It's been quiet on the blog this past week; well, it's been pretty quiet in our lives too so we haven't had much to say. Here's a quick recap though: I've been putting in some extra hours at work lately so I've been taking a lot of naps and drinking lots of spiced tea (We've been getting so many great tea samples at work!), and Shawn's been busy cooking away and trying new recipes. Last week we bought some ground turkey and ground beef and he made turkey beef chili pepper burgers. Then he used the leftover meat to make fried meatballs two days later - yummy! Oh, and our friend Christine came to visit on Monday and pretty much made us dinner - pesto chicken caprese pasta - mmmm! It went down so fast we didn't even have time for pictures!






I've also been working on getting my homemade dog treat business up and going. Yes, you read that correctly, I make homemade organic dog treats! It started as something fun to do for my mom's dogs and friends' dogs, but I've started giving samples out to customers and their dogs love them too, so Bark Bites was born. There are no products for sale on the etsy page yet, but there will be soon! Right now though I'm focusing on getting a bunch of samples together to give out at work and to nearby pet shops, in hopes of getting the name out at least.



We don't have a printer, so I'm stamping and hand-printing each label. It takes some time, but the treats are handmade, so why shouldn't the labels be?
But back to people food! Did someone say... burgers?







How about those fried meatballs? Seriously, we're talking fried balls of beef. With some mashed potatoes, of course.






Oh, and did I mention the shell pasta covered in homemade pasta sauce and freshly grated parmesan?













Yeah. That's dinner in this house. But have you seen dessert?





I call these inside-out peanut butter cups - it's my take on Ashley from (neverhome)maker's peanut butter bites; the recipe caught my eye the other day so I went ahead and made some; I thought they were tasty on their own, but Shawn said they needed a little something extra, and the inside-out peanut butter cup was born! Next time, I'll make them with milk chocolate in the center; the dark chocolate was too overpowering for the peanut butter cookie. But they were still super tasty!
That's it for last week's recap!

Shawn Hill's Guide to Paprika - Paprika Eureka

a Shawn Hill's Guide 

 Paprika - Eureka!

First off , there is an extreme LACK of information about Paprika on the interwebs.  I have now spent several hours researching this glorious spice. Like most people on Planet Earth I have the internet, and like most of those people I head to "THE ALL KNOWING SOURCE OF EVERYTHING" when I am starting my research on any subject.

According to "THE ALL KNOWING SOURCE OF EVERYTHING", Paprika is is a spice made from the grinding of dried fruits of Capsicum annuum (bell peppers or chili peppers). Capsicum peppers used for paprika are unusually rich in vitamin C, a fact discovered in 1932 by Hungary's 1937 Nobel prize-winner Albert Szent-Györgyi."

So what type of pepper is used specifically for making Paprika?

www.foodreference.com had the most helpful information.

"Paprika is a red powder that is made from grinding the dried pods of mild varieties of the pepper plant known as (Capsicum annuum L.) The pepper plants used to make this spice range from the sweet Bell pepper to the milder chili peppers. The Paprika peppers originally grown were hot. Over time, they have evolved to the milder varieties. In Hungary there are six classes or types of paprika ranging from delicate to hot. The peppers also range in size and shape depending on where they are grown . Some are grown in Spain, Hungary, California and other parts of the U.S. The most commonly produced paprika is made from the sweet red pepper also called the tomato pepper."

Here are a few of the other websites that I found useful in my research.

www.thehungariangirl.com - she had tons of info on hungarian paprika in her blog entry.

www.about.com - actually specifys chili peppers. 

http://honest-food.net/ - he has interesting info on making your own paprika! He uses chilies because he likes the taste. But you don't have to use chili peppers. You can use any red pepper you desire.

The other pepper mentioned  in my Paprika research was the Alma Paprika Pepper.You can find an interesting article on peppers over at Grit.com by Debbie Nowicki - 2009.

I then began looking at companies that distribute all types of spices. I was trying to see if one of them had some information on where their Paprika came from and what type of pepper was used....

Savory Spice Shop - Has one of the better websites. It is very simple, plenty of info and very easy to navigate. I also found information on their California Sweet Paprika, which is made from a hybrid pepper plant.

The Great American Spice Company - has tons and tons of spices and herbs. I was truely amazed at all the sorts of things you can get!

The Spice Barn - has similar spices as The Great American Spice Company, just not as many. They also have a very boring website with way too much text.

The Spice Hunter - Nice looking, well done website, lack of info and pictures.

Fuchs North America - Has a nice looking easy to navigate website. No pictures of the spices but I  like how they breakdown their products into categories. It happens to list Paprika under "Capsicums" along with Bell Peppers (red/green), Chili Peppers, Red Pepper and Jalapeño Peppers.

McCormick - Which can be found in most grocery stores. Generic or Gourmet. The website might not have much info. But I found something worth noting. in both kinds McCormick added SILICON DIOXIDE (ahem. That's basically SAND, if you didn't know).

They do this to add to its "flowability". To make the powder flow better. Wow,  I just can't believe that! Does every company add Silicon Dioxide to their Paprika?

What have we learned so far??

1. Paprika is made from grinding dried peppers (usually red)

2. Paprika can be mild or hot (depending on the pepper), the yellower the hue of Paprika, the hotter it is.

3. Paprika is mainly made in Spain, Hungry and the United States

4. Hungarian Paprika is considered to be the best.

So, It all comes down to place and pepper when it comes to Paprika.

Even though the original peppers used for Paprika were rather hot, their modern cousins are a bit milder in comparison. Also, depending on the region where the peppers are grown contributes to its taste properties. Over the years, peppers have been cross bred to produce the perfect flavor, much like in California with their hybrid pepper.

The Spanish use a different variety from the Americans, who use a different variety from the Hungarians. Much like birds on different continents evolve over time to better fit thier surroundings, peppers evolved over time as well. Now we have many many varieties of red peppers all with slightly different flavors.

Though Paprika is made from Red Peppers, some varieties of Red Peppers make a different type of spice...  like Cayenne Peppers become Ground Cayenne Pepper and Red Pepper Flakes come from dried Red Chilies which are hotter than the peppers used for paprika.

But don't confuse Paprika with either Ground Cayenne or Red Pepper Flakes, both have more heat to them. Paprika is mild in heat unless otherwise noted.

Also don't confuse Paprika with Chili Powder. Chili Powder is a mix of several spices.

AND MOST OF ALL, don't confuse any of them with ALLSPICE! That is something different all together, and is the focus of another lesson plan.

Here I am, sitting deer-eyed, looking at a virtual world of unorganized misinformation about the common spices we use in our kitchen. It felt just like I was standing in the aisle of my local supermarket, looking at the mess of spices in the tiny corner where they usually house them.

Now, I find myself staring at this computer screen in this virtual spice aisle trying to figure out what PAPRIKA actually is.

and the conclusion I've come to is.....

If it ain't paprika,

then it ain't paprika!

Super Chocolate Cookies

Shawn and I spent most of Monday in the kitchen. While he worked on a huge batch of pasta sauce I made a whole bunch of cookies!



Look at all that sauce! Some in the freezer, some in the fridge, and if you can't tell from the empty bowls on the right, some in our bellies too.

But back to cookies! First I baked off a batch of our favorite chocolate chip cookies and then got started on a batch of our other favorite cookies, super chocolatey cookie goodness... the ultimate chocolate cookie. And today, you are going to love me, because I'm about to share the recipe with you.




I've gotten into the habit of measuring out all my ingredients ahead of time. It's something I learned in my pastry-kitchen working days because we would work with some time-sensitive step-by-step recipes, so having all the ingredients ready and on-hand made it much easier. It's a good idea so that you're not shuffling around your kitchen looking for last minute ingredients, but measuring everything ahead of time certainly isn't necessary for every recipe. It does make for a nice picture though!

Double Chocolate Cookies

1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cups (packed) brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
Flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional, but recommended!)

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; whisk to blend.
In another bowl stir the chocolate and butter over a double boiler (picture below), until the mixture is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool.
Beat sugar and eggs in another bowl until thick.
Add the chocolate mixture and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
Stir in flour mixture until combined.
Batter will be wet - chill batter until firm, at least an hour. If you plan on leaving it in there overnight, I suggest taking the batter out of the fridge about an hour before you intend to bake the cookies; it's too hard and unworkable otherwise.

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Drop batter by spoonfuls onto sheet pans, (or use a cookie scoop, like I do) spacing two inches apart. Sprinkle each with a pinch of flaky sea salt, if you’re using it.
Bake just until tops are dry and cracked but cookies are still soft to touch, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Cool on sheet pan then transfer to wire rack. (They taste 10x better once cooled!!! Trust me.)

You can buy a double boiler, but why waste your money when you can achieve the same thing with a bowl set over a pot of boiling water? You're just looking for indirect heat, people! In theory, you could melt it all down in a microwave too. But where's the fun in that?




This is what your chocolate and butter should look like once combined using whichever method you prefer.




Now beat those eggs and sugar! Add those other ingredients!




(I also added chocolate chunks to mine, because I'm indulgent like that)




By the way, THESE ARE SUPER DUPER MESSY!!! (Don't say I didn't warn you!)




Finally! Now the true test of patience begins.




Oh. My. Cookies.




Another happy baker shot! Might have to take one for all cookie recipes :)

Getting back into running

I first took an interest in running about two years ago; both my parents were training for various races at the time and would go out for a run together around 6:30am most days, so when I moved back home I started joining them in their morning runs. Just as I was starting to get excited about it and making some progress, I started a new job with weird hours. I was working 1pm - 11pm and the new hours made it difficult to get up at 6am to go running; I just didn't have it in me to go on a mere 5 hours of sleep to get a run in early in the morning, and I couldn't go out after work because I didn't have the gear to be out running in the dark. Excuses aside, it was easier to fit yoga into my schedule at the time, so I started taking classes nearby and just stopped running all together. For the next two years, yoga was my exercise of choice.

I recently began running again for a number of reasons...

• I was tired of seeing all of my perfectly good running gear (-a few shirts, shorts, socks, and two pairs of hardly worn down sneakers) sitting around in the closet, unused.
• The weather has definitely been a little more runner-friendly these past few weeks so the thought of taking to the sidewalks has been running through my mind frequently.
• The final push though came when the yoga studio I was frequenting once a week shut its' doors at the end of August. Left without a place to practice I finally ventured onto the road for some physical and spiritual guidance.

Now, I work in the food service industry and am by no means sitting on my bum all day at a desk; I usually spend about 8 hours a day on my feet and I make a point to walk to/from work most days too (I only live .3 miles from work) and Shawn and I take walks around the neighborhood on a regular basis; so I am definitely not lacking in exercise. But I wouldn't mind getting a little workout on occasion.

Since the yoga studio closed I've had to adapt to doing my own yoga at home. I'm far too used to going to classes and not having to come up with my own sequences, so this is actually a push I need and am welcoming, but to get outside of our space a bit I've also decided to add a little running back into my weekly routine.

My first time out I set out on a 2-mile course and was able to run 3/4s of a mile before my endurance got the best of me. The past 2+ years of doing yoga must have made me pretty strong, because I never expected my breathing to give out before my muscles. But what my muscles had no trouble with that day, they certainly got the best of me the next. My legs were burning for almost a whole day after that first run!





But I gave it two days rest and then set back out again, this time on 1-mile course, of which I was able to run .8 before having to stop for breath. This time though, my legs felt no excrutiating pain afterwards. Ah, relief.

After chatting with my mother about working on pacing myself to get the most out of my endurance, I decided to take it a little slower. On my third run I set out on the same 1-mile course but I tried to find my stride and stay at a constant speed, and was actually able to run the full mile in just under thirteen minutes. Not a very fast time, but I ran the whole way!

I've run that 1-mile course a few more times now and am still amazed at how strong my muscles are - two years ago they would to be the first thing to flare up in pain when I would run, and now they give me no trouble at all! It just makes me feel even better about all that yoga that has kept me physically strong these past two years. Now I can focus on breathing steady and slowly building up speed.

Confirmed Suspicions

We all know that squirrels from New Jersey can beat the acorns out of squirrels from Delaware. However! The squirrels from Pennsylvainia seem to be smarter than both the squirrels from New Jersey and Delaware, even if you combined the brain power of the two.

Really? Just how smart are these squirrels?
These squirrels are smart enough to out smart a human being AND countless hours of human engineering.

The human being is our neighbor across the hall.
The human engineering is the squirrel trap. (Which was probably made in China...) (...do they even have squirrels in China?)

A week or two ago now, our neighbors put some lovely flowers out on the front stoop.
Since it is Autumn, the squirrels have been going wild.
The foraging season IS upon us and the squirrels have begun fattening up for the winter.

Our neighbor's lovely flowers are in a plastic planter...
   The squirrels have been foraging in this planter....
      Leaving an even pile of dirt all around the outside of the planter.

The flowers have not been harmed.
The squirrels are making a bit of a mess, but squirrels will be squirrels.

Four days ago a large rodent trap appeared inside the entry way to our apartments.
I wondered to myself if we had a rat problem... I have not seen any giant rats. Hm.

The next day the same trap was outside...    armed with peanuts...     ready to snare its prey....

Later in the day the trap had been triggered and there were no peanuts to be found.
Remnants of shells could be seen around the trap and on the front stoop.

For the next 4 days i wondered who placed the trap out there.
At night it was kept in the entry way, but during the day it was kept outside.

I used my deductive reasoning and the scientific method and assumed it was the neighbors, angry at the mess the squirrels have been making of their lovely flowers.

Dramatization

I ruled out the maintenance man; I've seen him chase the squirrels off, make noises at them, and squirt the garden hose at them, but he doesn't seem to want to cause any harm to the squirrels. He and the squirrels have probably formed a few games over the years.

Also, he seems to have no interest or time for trapping squirrels. and 1 trap is not enough to capture a whole herd of ravenous psycho killer squirrels in the courtyard.

ravenous psycho killer squirrel

Today = Confirmation

Today, I saw the determination of our neighbor.
Today the trap was set earlier and triggered.
An hour ago I actually saw him RESETTING the trap.

These squirrels have figured out how to hustle peanuts from this guy!
They knock over the trap - guy puts more tasty peanuts in. EASY!

This guy is basically giving the squirrels a treat.  
Even though the peanuts are a change from the many acorns falling from the trees,
these squirrels have plenty of food to pick from on the ground.
Why would they enter some bright shiny sliver thing just for some peanuts of death?

No matter what this guy does,
A squirrel is gonna do, what a squirrel is gonna do. 

This guy needs to let his anger out in a different way.
Stop worrying about these squirrels and the tiny mess they make.
Worrying gives you cancer.

Besides, where are you going to release the squirrel once you trap it? 

Out back?? 

Where it can then easily climb onto the roof and back over into the court yard.

Thank you neighbor guy for keeping me thoroughly amused.

Yesterday (Not Just Another Monday)

If you recall, last week ....

...our courageous heroes ventured to the state of gardens- the lush green lands of New Jersey.

Their journey was filled with many obstacles and perils...

Several turns almost resulted in the deaths of our protagonists.

Prepare yourself for this week's:

Journey To Jersey

( A Hazy Morning )

It was a crisp beautiful morning. We left our humble abode promptly at 6:30 am EST.

Our usual road out of the Philadelphia area is interstate 95 via the Vine Steet Express Way. To avoid 76, we usually take the Martin Luther King Junior Drive which Runs along the Schuylkill River. Martin Luther King Junior Drive then connects to The Vine Street Expressway. Which is then a straight shot onto 95.

While on Martin Luther King Drive, I noticed several helicopters in the sky. The choppers seemed to be circling the area in which we were headed.

I even recall saying , "I bet there's a crash somewhere."

SINCE it was now 6:45 in the morning, (15 minutes after we departed) my brain was not at full functioning capabilities and I was unable to put 2 and 2 together.

We get onto the Vine Street Expressway.

Suddenly, behind us we hear a flurry of sirens. Local Cops and State Troopers come racing through the morning commute traffic. As we were driving, a cop pulls right in front of us and blocks off the section of road that we were headed for.

Confused, we follow other motorists slowly to the right and up the off ramp that was several yards before the road block.

We should have known at that point that something was up. Unaware of where we were, we took an on ramp back onto the Vine Street Expressway several blocks from where we got off, thinking we had driven past what ever mess was ahead of us.

We had not. There, in front of us was a line of cars had began to pile up behind the cop car that was blocking access to the Expressway.

Now, behind us, other cars started to fill in. I am not sure why the cops didn't block off the top of the on ramp at first- it would have prevented the back-up on the on ramp. Perhaps we were just several minutes ahead of their accident area containment plan.

Luckily, it was not long before the authorities reopened our side of the highway. Setting us behind only 35 minutes.

Waiting in 35 minutes of traffic however awarded me with a photo opportunity of the crash...

Amazingly NO ONE was killed in the crash. And despite NBC's Helicopter being on the scene the longest. It was FOX and ABC that reported on the events. Along with a few other online NEWS SOURCES.

Maybe it was a miracle that saved those motorists that morning.

Some ONE or some THING looking down on them. The force training to show us that witnessed it a sign.

But several miles down the road, while photographing the sun behind one of my favorite views off of 95, I found a face.

I found a face in the sun.

How's that for seeing something!

Photographing such an epic image after seeing such an awful thing... higher power or whatever, that photo is stunning. BEST photograph I have ever taken- hands down.

If it hadn't been for that crash and our 30 minute wait I would have never gotten that photo.

It really was "perfect" timing.

...

We experienced some other traffic and detour troubles while trying to enter New Jersey, near New Hope. This set us back a grand total of 70 mins or more.

All of this happened because we had to drop the Versa off at Somerset Nissan for it's 15,000 mile service and we needed to get it in early (8am) so we wouldn't have to leave it over night.

We didn't drop it off until 9am but luckily we didn't have to wait too long. The car was ready by 2:30. And we were on our way home around 5:30 after several pit stops at the parents' and friend's places.

And that was part two of our ongoing series,

Journey to Jersey

Stay tuned for the next adventure!

simple animation time!

making mashed potatoes!

Just a quick post...

Haven't had much to say these days, Shawn and I haven't done anything too terribly exciting lately. We're still cooking bunches though! Here are a few things we've made recently:




Shawn made poblano and anaheim pepper burgers (sliders, actually) last week... they were amazing! Topped with onions and pepper jack cheese, mmm.




Breakfast for dinner! Scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, and pancakes.




Lots and lots of veggies. Purple potatoes with chili peppers, black beans and rice, and sliced bell peppers.




Peanut butter mousse and chocolate pie... our friend Christine made one for us last week and it's been on my mind ever since, so I buckled down and recreated it. Hers had a graham cracker crust but I had some pie dough to use up so that's what I used!




Then I topped it all off with some whole wheat sesame pretzel! Super tasty, and so easy to make. Thanks for the recipe, Christine!




I also made some granola last week; the kitchen smelled like ginger and coconut :)




I know that isn't food, but it's food related! My trip to TJ Maxx yesterday yielded a few good finds. Shawn's been complaining about my old and hard to read measuring spoons and cups, so when I stumbled upon the orange kitchenaid ones that so conveniently match the orange theme that's developed in our kitchen, I figured he wouldn't mind me spending just a little money. Then I found the white stacking bowls with lids and I thought about the green set we already have and how we're always saying we should get another set... and so I bought those too! Now we have brand spankin' new stuff to smile about, and it all cost less than $10! Hurray!

Have a splendiferous day!