Give me your Nuts!

Marine and I live in an apartment that seems to also be inhabited by squirrels. Everyday we wake up and can look outside our bedroom window and our living room window and be entertained by these little ninjas of the trees. They run and chase after each other.They dig holes in the dirt and live a generally safe squirrel life. Without any natural predators and the lack of human intervention, the squirrels that live in the courtyard and out back have it safe and easy. I believe I  have mentioned our squirrel friends beforehand - the squirrels that dig in the neighbors flower pot and our little window visitor.


This squirrel, which we have named "Surly", has been visiting our kitchen window ever since we moved into our apartment. At first his visits happened every other week or so. It was always a nice treat to see Mr. Surly Squirrel early in the morning.

For the last two weeks, the east coast has been drenched with rain and gloomy weather. It rained last week and it seems like it has yet to stop with the added cloudy and gloomy days in between.

The local area experienced some heavy flooding, due to rain last Thursday into Friday and partially into Saturday. It has been raining for several days in a row now.

Saturday afternoon, the rain showers had subsided for the moment. This allowed the sun topoke its head out and grace us with a smile. This also gave all the little critters a chance to warm up and dry off. So logically, our good friend Mr. Surly used the perfect bush right outside of our kitchen window for a calm nice place to dry out.

Mr. Surly Squirrel has also put his little hand up to mine ( with the window closed ) in response to my attempt to "high-five" with glass between us. 


He seems to be a little camera shy though. Because every time I run to get my camera, he scurries off. 


Like in the picture to the left. Once he realized I was taking pictures of him, he skedaddled. 

Sunday it was also raining. My buddy Dan came down to watch some football. So, Marine decided to bake off what was left of the "inside-out peanut butter cups". The warmth of the oven not only warmed our home and hearts (and stomachs. Dan devoured the IOPBC's) but the oven also offered warmth to a squirrel.

a Mr. Surly Squirrel. 

As you can see in the picture below, our out-take fan sits right next to the oven. On the other side of that fan is a vent, which expels our excess heat from the oven.

Sunday, while watching one of the games,  Marine began to "Whisper Shout" for me  from the kitchen. However, my attention was occupied by the great american sport that is football. So naturally I took my time  to make my way to the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, this is what transpired....

Marine- "Surly was just at the Window!"

Shawn - "You had a squirrel visitor?"

Marine - "Yes, but at first I just saw his fluffy tail out of the corner of my eye.

He then climbed up the screen to see if there was a way to get in."

Shawn - "So you could see his squirrel junk?"

After a bit of banter I went into the living room to get my camera. I came back to find Mr. Surly Squirrel just chilling right outside of the vent. Reaching out for it and sniffing the air around it. Below is a picture of Mr. Surly chilling in the bush, on the branch, directly outside our kitchen vent.

Thinking about it afterwards, in wasn't the warmth that had attracted Surly's attention  it was probably the smell of the fresh baked "inside-out peanut butter cups". The intoxicating aroma of baked peanuts was driving the squirrel nuts. He was looking for a way into our kitchen and steal our cookies. 

Monday, to our surprise, he came back to visit us again! While we were making coffee; he must have heard the grinder and came running. He climbed up the screen and looked directly at us as we were both in the kitchen.  

and again today (Tuesday) .....

This is an image of Mr. Surly cleaning his tail. He leaped to the branches seconds after.

He is plotting. Look at those eyes. 

He is testing the fence, seeing if there are any weaknesses.

And when he finds one...

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.