who needs crappy drugstore candy?

tiny but powerful cookies
Originally uploaded by jcipa

Mix in bowl:
1.5 c flour
.25 c high-quality cocoa (be generous)
(up to) 1 tsp chipotle (or other chili) powder
1 tsp cinnamon
0.5 tsp salt

Cream in second bowl:
.75 c butter
.67 c sugar

Add to butter/ sugar mixture, mixing well between ingredients:
2 large egg yolks
4oz melted/ cooled bittersweet chocolate (I used 1/4 of a TJ's pound plus 72% cacao bar)
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs Kahlua or cold strong coffee

Mix in flour mixture, ~.5 c at a time. Portion by tsp on ungreased sheet, bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes. Yields just about 4 dozen cookies that are tender, tiny, dark, assertive, all complex flavor within a straightforward presentation. Much like my tiny, shriveled, black, morally ambiguous though oddly slightly sensitive heart. Happy v-day, yo.

emotional hangover

Thank god the Steelers won. The past week was horrible with the level of trash talking, verging on abuse at times. Jeepers spat on, someone picked at my little Steelers helmet sticker, accosted in a parking lot while wearing the black & gold hat a dear friend made me... bleh. Tiresome. I honestly didn't believe that we won at first. I mean, I was watching the last drive and just saw it playing out exactly the same way it did in October, and I didn't believe the Raven didn't convert. Wow. Funny enough, it's been quiet at work-- few Ravens fans want to acknowledge that there was a game Sunday. Figures. It's okay, though. I can be the gracious winner. And gloating too early is bad luck. I have to admit, I lol'd at Ben's broken nose. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Speaking of nice guys, WTF Wannstache? Talk about a bummer, and I don't even like collegiate sports.

In other news, the Baltimoreans I've encountered tend to have very limited palates. I've already met two natives for whom falafel was a revelation. How do you go through life as a somewhat wordly person without trying falafel? I'm most perplexed. I assumed that as a Pittsburgher, I'd be more of a Midwestern-meets-Appalachian naif on the oh-so-cosmopolitan east coast. And yet certain things I've taken as normal, like really good family Italian restaurants in practically every neighborhood, are like novelties here. So weird.

Speaking of cooking, I think it's time to move this week's experiment off the sheets and onto racks. Peanut butter oatmeal chocolate cookies for work this week. It's nice to have a receptive audience, because now that I don't have family within spitting distance? I'd hardly ever do any real cooking. I mean, it's really just me now-- and I can only have leftovers so many times.

Last bits

It's funny how the most mundane activities can trigger strong reactions. Yesterday, I changed the bag in my sweeper-- and it occurred to me that this bag was in my sweeper when I did the final cleaning of my old apartment. The dust and pollen and miscellaneous floor dirt were Pittsburgh in origin. The cat fur in the bottom was shed in Pittsburgh. This new bag will be filled with dust and pollen and miscellaneous floor dirt and cat fur that are all Baltimorean in origin. It's a weird milestone. And this weekend, I saw my first movie in Baltimore (I deserved a break after having my weekend plans ruined, though "break" is a bit of a stretch when Deathly Hallows had me in tears practically every ten minutes). Funny how time flies.

Speaking of which, I forgot to mark my Peteversary. So it's my third Peteversary plus one month-- and I happen to have taken this picture one month after taking him in to foster, so it all works out. Look at how bald and skinny he was-- and that was after a month of healing, fur regrowth, and fattening (Z also put on a few pounds from all the extra treats, funny enough). God, it still makes me so angry when I think about what kind of owner could neglect him that much.



In other news, (yeast-risen) oatmeal bread with molasses is a success. I added a bit of cardamom, which added a subtle something or other that complimented the molasses. Alas, as usual? This wan an unplanned experiment and I didn't take notes. Impulsive breadmaking, then I was inspired to quickly zap oats and water to make oatmeal to add in, then saw the remaining third cup of molasses and thought it would be a good changeup from the honey I usually put in oat bread... you know how it goes. We'll see if I can recreate it some time.

Meh.

The less said about the Steelers at the moment, the better. How they could do this to me when I'm marooned so deep in enemy territory? And alas, poor Skippy! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath bore us on his foot a thousand times, and now how abhorr'd in my imagination it is!
My gorge rises at it.

Then again, perhaps we knew him a little too well.

Otherwise... Thanksgiving is coming. There's positivity. It's a happy holiday, though now I'm one of those people who get to join the teeming masses that have to actually take off time and travel for the holiday. And travel on the busiest day of the year, no less. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm not sure how I feel about (dun dun dun) not really making anything for a holiday.

You see, not making anything is unfortunate because I recycled my beautiful decorative pumpkins into over 11 and a half cups of cooked mashed pumpkin. A standard 15oz can of pumpkin has about 1.75 cups. So... I have the equivalent of over 6.5 cans of pumpkin. Or had. Two cups were turned into a batch of ginger pumpkin muffins in a little recipe I concocted/ adapted. They seemed to be mostly well-received, though the amount of moisture in the fresh pumpkin threw off the water: oil ratio more than I thought (and I was trying to not use too much fat). So, lesson learned there. Otherwise they were fairly decent pumpkin-ginger-molasses things with streusel tops and rum drizzle. And one person said they looked like they came from Starbucks or something. I'm not too much of a snob that I won't take that as a compliment. But seriously, I'm going to wind up with a freezer full of pumpkin bread, aren't I?

Bored now.

Clearly it is fall despite being unseasonably warm (in my area at work, anyway). All I want to do is cook and knit and/ or crochet and do other nest-y kinds of things. And watch copious amounts of football until I'm drunk on it. The Steelers are keeping ahead of Baltimore, though we lost Aaron Smith AGAIN?! Argh. The Ravens fans were oddly quiet today, as though they realized that they BARELY beat the Bills and that they had a few calls go their way. Oh, who am I kidding-- strike that last. This is Baltimore, where the persecution complex runs as deep. And can I just say how absofrickinglutely hilarious the Cowboys meltdown has been? I savor their yummy, yummy tears like a delicious small batch bourbon.

Also, I am ridiculously excited about this coming weekend and seeing Pittsburgh peoples. Even though I may experience massive costume FAIL, it's still nice to be around familiar faces in familiar environs.

Anyhoo, I'm killing time while waiting for Halloween treats to finish in the oven, so here's one of the many memes/ notes to which I owe a response.

Getting to know you...

You've been tagged, you have the honor of copying all these goofy questions, writing your own response, and tagging other victims. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you - but not in a creepy stalker kind of way.

1. What time did you get up this morning?
First alarm at 5:30, in the shower by 5:55.

2. How do you like your steak?
Medium rare

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Inception. I haven't had time for movies since moving.

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Doctor Who, Bones, Dirty Jobs, The Good Wife, Burn Notice

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I'd have multiple houses, because I can't decide.

6. What did you have for breakfast?
Yogurt, granola, & tea

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Spicy

8. What foods do you dislike?
Absolutely wouldn't eat? Mushrooms. And seafood gives me hives.

9. Favorite place to eat?
I miss quite a few places back home.

10. Favorite dressing?
Balsamic vinaigrette or a rustic Italian-ish vinaigrette

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?
Jeepers

12. What are your favorite clothes?
jeans and a teeshirt/ sweater

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Just about everywhere

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
Depends on what I'm drinking

15. Where would you want to retire?
A small farm-ish kind of place with a huge garden, greenhouse, a few fleece livestock. Or a place on the water, so I can finally have my sailboat.

16. Favorite time of the day?
I'm an afternoon kind of person, if we're not assigning any particular place or company

17. Where were you born?
Pittsburgh, PA-- in Oakland, natch.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
NFL football, hockey, Olympic events

22. Bird watcher?
Look at the birdie /Vonnegutted!

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Certainly not morning. Never.

24. Do you have any pets?
Two cats here, one with my parents'

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
I have a multitude of burns on my fingertips from making Halloween treats. 300 degree sugar syrup will do that.

26. What did you want to be when you were little?
Teacher, scientist, writer, librarian, pilot, engineer

27. What is your best childhood memory?
Holidays, especially Christmas

28. Are you a cat or dog person?
I like both, but prefer cats when pushed

30. Always wear your seat belt?
Yes, it keeps my pants up and shirt down.

31. Been in a car accident?
Minor

32. Any pet peeves?
Just a few... dozen.

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings?
Spinach & feta or the classic sausage/onion/green pepper three-fer

34. Favorite Flower?
To see: orchids, daisies, sunflowers
To smell: gardenia, citrus blossom, sweat peas, jasmine, lilac, old roses...

35. Favorite ice cream?
ginger or vanilla

36. Favorite fast food restaurant ?
In-and-Out. We definitely need them on the east coast.

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
Third time's the charm, though the administrator scared the piss out of me the first time by blowing my horn at the person parallel parking ahead of me.

38. From whom did you get your last email?
A work contact

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
B&N or Ikea

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Inquired about part-time doctoral programs

41. Like your job?
Absolutely

42. Broccoli?
Just not raw

43. What was your favorite vacation?
Too hard to pick one

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
A coworker

45. What are you listening to right now?
Monday Night Football (and loving it!)

46. What is your favorite color?
Green

47. How many tattoos do you have?
One.

50. Coffee Drinker?
Tea. Hot cinnamon spice, black ginger, chai, or Earl Grey.

Columbian adventures (where Columbian refers to, you know, Columbus day weekend)

Mission accomplished. Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913–1917 viewed before it closes tomorrow. Very good stuff, though it was insanely crowded even with timed tickets. I'm not going to say that I didn't consider shoulder checking a truly obnoxious woman that would push herself in front of everyone else at every single work or sign. Very poor museum manners. Of course, the people-watching in New York is unmatched and the people-watching at any art museum or gallery is always fun, so the two together? Perfect. Especially the over-the-top outfits some people wear to somehow demonstrate that they are Artistic and totally Get It more than you. One (caucasian) woman wore a jacket tailored like a man's kimono jacket, but with long open detached sleeves like on a woman's kimono. It was in the 70s, sunny and warm yesterday, but another woman wore a knee-length Cowichan-esque sweater. Very strange.

But, anyway, exhibit and MOMA visited. Street vendors haggled. Battery Park visited and Statue of Liberty viewed. Pearl River visited and unique lanterns acquired for my lair (and Pocky for my desk restocked). Cabs ridden. Dinner & mini cannoli consumed in Little Italy. Not bad for a little under 11 hours. Though I am seriously tired.

On the plus side, being a (as reputation has it) lazy ass Federal employee, I do have Monday off. I have chores to run, but I'm also embarking on my first real culinary adventure since moving: making fresh plum pierogies. While I'm fine with savory pierogies, and with lekvar, filling with fresh fruit's going to be an interesting challenge. But I have a little over two pounds of fresh prune plums in the fridge, so I'm committed at this point. So here we go..

How to make pierogies in 15 simple steps

I decided to put together an illustrated guide to making pierogies from scratch. To the uninitiated (who are either not of Eastern European descent or have never spent a significant amount of time in places like Pittsburgh that happen to have a lot of people of Eastern European descent-- I happen to meet both criteria), pierogies are little carbohydrate bombs of joy. They're kind of like a ravioli, but larger and using an enriched dough. Potato and its variations (especially potato and cheese) are the most common fillings by far, but fillings can be cabbage-based (sauerkraut or chopped cabbage fried in bacon or butter), fruit-based (the most common are fresh plums and prepared prune filling called lekvar, but may include cherry, apple, and peach filling thickened with bread crumbs), or made from cheese (typically a farmer's cheese or dry cottage cheese bound with egg), mushrooms, or meat. Depending on what corner of the world originally called home or how badly anglicized the word is, they're called pierogi, perogi, perogy, piroghi, pirogi, pierogy, pirogen, pirohi (which is the version used in my grade school), pirohy, pyrohy, or a completely different name altogether. "Pirohi" and such with the long E sounds are actually the multiple noun.

There are as many ways to make these little carbohydrate bombs of joy as there are ways to name and fill them. This is how I make them, a variation on this incredibly helpful recipe. My trusty stand mixer is invaluable for mixing the dough, which is notoriously difficult.

First, two and a half cups all-purpose flour and one teaspoon table salt are whisked together in the mixing bowl:



Next, add one whole egg, one egg yolk, and two generous tablespoons full-fat sour cream:



Mix well, drizzling in about a half cup lukewarm water:



Gently knead the dough together and switch to the dough hook. Add about another tablespoon or two of water if necessary to get the dough bits to stick together to form a coherent mass.



Let the dough knead on low speed for a bit, until it forms a smooth mass (~10-15 minutes). When it looks something like this, cover well and allow to rest for half an hour. I wrapped it in a damp paper towel and placed it in a plastic bag.



While the dough is resting (and happy gluten proteins are developing away), you can prepare the filling if you haven't already. This filling is made from potatoes boiled with cloves of preserved dilled garlic, mashed with a little sour cream, seasoned with salt, pepper, and dill then mixed with about a half cup minced onion softened in butter and shredded cheddar cheese.



I have a large pot of water on to boil.



I also have sliced onions softened in *a lot* of butter (this isn't health food-- and the excess butter helps prevent the pierogies from sticking together in storage) ready to go.



Some of the onions and butter are used to grease the pan in which they'll be frozen.



Now that at 30-45 minutes have passed, it's time to roll out the dough. Roll to ~1/16th of an inch thick and cut out using a round cutter 3"-4" in diameter. You can cut out squares with a knife or pizza cutter if you don't have a biscuit cutter. You can use a glass, but the edges tend to not be sharp enough. The dough is quite elastic and can be challenging to work by hand, especially the first time when you're getting a feel for the technique (I assure you that my recipe variation is actually the easiest to work of the ones I've tried). Scraps can be dipped in water and kneaded back together.



Place about a teaspoon of filling in the center of each. Really, that's ALL. About ONE teaspoon. Moisten edges with water, fold in half and pinch closed. Avoid air pockets at all costs.



I crimp the edges with a fork to make sure they're sealed well.



Drop into boiling water, making sure to stir within the first minute to ensure even cooking and to avoid air pockets that can cause the pierogies to burst.



Once they float, I give them about another minute, then scoop them out of the water and drop them into the waiting butter and onion bath.



Out of the butter and onions and either into your mouth, or into the pan to freeze.



I get about 60 or so out of this recipe. Five or so fist-sized all-purpose potatoes make about twice the amount of filling needed for one recipe of dough. A tightly sealed pan can be frozen for use later. The pan can be thawed out for a day, then placed in a low oven tightly covered with foil for about 45 minutes to an hour. Or zapped, covered with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.

And there you have it! They're a hell of a lot of work-- allow yourself at least four hours-- but they really are miles apart from their commercially available cousins.