what's salt and pepper without cumin?

I've begun work in earnest, which I'm discovering means that I have no time for anything else except for sleeping.  It's a little discouraging, but that's probably only because I haven't been paid yet.  Once that kicks in?  Yeah, I'll be fine.  Here are some things from the last couple weeks.

The weekend before I started training, Adam and Catherine came to my neck of the woods to hike a bit in Great Falls Park.  This delightful muppet and I joined them.  The falls were as high as I'd ever seen them, after the insane amounts of rain we'd had.

You didn't think you'd get away without food, did you?  It wouldn't be a Kelly blog if it weren't about food and dogs.  I actually made this right in the middle of my first week of work--we didn't eat until 9 pm, but it was worth it.

PW's Sour Cream Enchiladas (incorrectly made--which, this being me, of course means I accidentally added too much cheese) and some seasoned black beans.  This was a yummy, cheesy, cumin-y meal and just looking at these photos is making me miss the part of my life when I was eating it.  Mmm, cumin.

ps:

HIMYM, anyone?

more kitchen adventures

More adventures in "Kelly is Poor and Can't Cook!"

More photos of food.  These days, all I do is take photos of food.  This was a breakfast last week.  Mmmm, honeydew.  If you don't eat honeydew by squeezing a lime wedge all over it, then you don't really eat honeydew.

I got an itching for sugar last week in the middle of torrential rain and floods, but I wasn't willing to leave the house to fetch ingredients, so I made Snickerdoodles.  I used this Mouth from the South recipe, for the most part.  I ran out of vanilla and refused to even walk across the street to borrow some from a neighbor, so we went without.  I don't think the cookies suffered unduly.

The verdict on these cookies was delicious, but I caution you thusly: you may think the recipe makes snickerdoodles, and you wouldn't be wrong.  However, you should know that what it actually makes is MORE SNICKERDOODLES THAN YOU HAVE EVER SEEN AT ONCE IN YOUR LIFE.  My total came to 71.  71 snickdoodles.  That is...a lot of snickerdoodles.  I stuck with the recommended one-inch ball of dough, and the cookies were a bit crispy.  I prefer my snickerdoodles soft enough to sleep on, so I just snuck them in the microwave for 30 seconds whenever I felt like munching on one or two.  Perfection.

Do you notice how dark these photos are?  I took lots more, but they were just too dark or obviously flash-y.  I baked these cookies in the middle of the day.  During our week of storms, the middle of the day looked like the middle of the night.

And, just for honesty's sake, this is what it looks like when I bake cookies:

I tell myself that everything would be pretty and neat if only I had a stand mixer, but I know that's a lie. Where Kelly and flour intersect, chaos will always follow.

recent snapshots from the kitchen

Another episode of "Kelly is Poor and Can't Cook."

 I've been drinking a fair amount of smoothies.  I use the tried-and-true "dump a bunch of fruit into the blender with some ice" method.  And yes, I prefer to drink them through a bendy straw.

 Making cauliflower florets for this ridiculously delicious cauliflower gratin.  Seriously.  You should make this.  I paired it with pork loin in a simple marinade (mine was a teeny bit different, but I started with this).  Totally bragging here, I kicked this dinner's B-U-T-T.

My take on The Pioneer Woman's Pancetta and Leek Pasta.  I say "my take" like I deliberately thought out ways to make this meal tastier, but as it turns out, I just don't know what a leek looks like.  Or how to read grocery store produce signs.  So I made mine with green onions (a whole bunch--6 or 7 total, I think), used half and half instead of cream (it was on hand), and only a fraction of the amount called for besides.  The recipe did not suffer for my mistakes: this was also a freaking yummy dinner.

I am slowly by surely figuring out how to photograph food.  I think.  Maybe.

(Side note: Are y'all watching the Pioneer Woman's show on Food Network?  I don't generally find cooking shows terribly interesting, but I may be hooked on this one.  The cute kids and handsome cowboys don't hurt, of course.)

Herbed Almost-Egg White Omelet

This is part of a new series I'm calling "Kelly is Poor and Can't Cook."

Historically, I have not been a big eater of breakfast.  Which is sad, as breakfast foods are about my favourite across the board.  However, if there's one thing an early-morning walk does, it's awaken a hunger for breakfast.  At first, I relied on fruit smoothies after each walk, as I discovered that I had conditioned myself to want them after years of rewarding myself with a smoothie after every college workout.  Of late, however, I have been going with the tried-and-true method of digging through the fridge until inspiration strikes.  Yesterday, it struck in the form of a turkey sausage English muffin sandwich.  Today, I noticed the spinach.

I'm not a huge fan of eggs (I tend to get creeped out by their runniness--it's dumb, I know), but egg whites were a whole different kettle of fish  (not really.  There are no fish in this recipe).  I called this an almost egg white omelet because it was the first dish I've made using only egg whites rather than yolks, and some yolky bits made it in.  Anyways, here's my recipe, slightly adapted from the original.  I say "adapted" because it sounds fancy, but what it really means in "I added more cheese.")

Herbed Egg White Omelet

• 3 egg whites 
• 1 tablespoon skim milk 
• 1/2 tsp Penzey's Sunny Paris Seasoning
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh baby spinach 
• 1 tablespoon shredded sharp cheddar
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

Combine eggs, milk, and herbs in a bowl.  Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray, then put it over low-medium heat.  Add spinach.  Once the spinach starts to wilt (this happens pretty quickly), pour the egg mixture over it.  As the edges set, use a spatula to lift them and tip the pan to allow remaining liquid underneath.  Honestly, I didn't need to do much of that.  My eggs pretty much stayed where I poured them.  When everything's set, sprinkle cheese on top and fold in half (or thirds, as I did).

All in all, I was pleased with my very first omelet.  The recipe called for any type of mixed herbs, but I liked this with the Sunny Paris, which has shallots, chives, green peppercorns, dill weed, basil, tarragon, chervil, and bay leaf in it.  If you have a specialty herb store anywhere near you, you should check and see if they carry Penzey's.  Good stuff.  I wish we'd had green onions in the house, or I would have added them to the omelet, too.  Ah, well.

Overall, it was a light but filling meal.

end note: You might have noticed there are photos in this post, after I whined about not having a camera.  Well that is because I stole my mother's for this.  You might also notice that none of the photos are in color.  That is because my mother's camera produces the worst color I have ever seen.  On the up side, however, while rummaging for the upload cord, I found my camera's charger.  Yay!