Why

We were invited to a cook out. In all due modesty I make decent brownies, so they asked me to bring brownies. For reasons I'm not going to explain we aren't going to the cook out. I still made the brownies.

My excuse is that I had already melted the butter and choclate by the time we knew we were not going. But still......

I'm using the 'Brownies Cockaigne' recipe from the good edition of the Joy of Cooking.

Coastal Living

Sally and I spent the weekend with my parental units. A grand time was had by all, especially our two kittens. We left the three older cats home, so Noodle and Pye were able to enjoy the full attention of each other and four humans. They also developed a liking for camellia water!

We took my parent's to Nance's for seafood last night. My mother indulged herself in one of her favourite treats, steamed oysters. The local oysters at Nance's are too-die-for-good. Sally had her fave coastal fish, grouper, my Dad had fried oysters and I had sauteed shrimp. We all swapped tidbits and ate way too many hush puppies.

High cuisine is all very well and I do enjoy a gourmet meal, but fresh seafood all by itself is darn hard to beat for plain good eats.



If we lived in the low country, I guarantee I'd be eating a lot more, but I'd probably weigh less. Our grill would be seeing a lot more use, you see...

Favourite Cooking Site

Michael Chu's Cooking For Engineers is a seriously wonderful resource for cooks. Those who are intuitive and cook by feel may not get a lot out of it, but those of us who like to have everything laid out in advance get much benefit therefrom. In particular, his toffee recipe is nigh perfect.

How to Tell When You Have Finally Lost Your Mind

When I woke up this morning, I spent a good ten minutes lying in bed pondering whether or not I could grill bacon. Testosterone poisoning or dementia? Only time will tell.

Update: The bacon went from raw to pure carbon in three minutes. What a great grill! :)

Pack the Bags, I'm Coming Home!

Reading this article brought tears of joy to my eyes. I had thought where I lived qualified as a red meat kind of a place. But I have seen the light and I've repented of my weenie ways.

Best quote:"For most people in Argentina, a vegetarian is something you eat."

Hot Chocolate

I'm a chocoholic. So here's a little recipe that eases my cravings on these cold winter days (and nights)

1. Get some water very very hot.
2. Add cocoa powder to said water. Stir frantically. When the water is dark dark brown, stop adding cocoa powder.
3. Add about half as much Splenda as you did cocoa powder. This time stir frenetically.
4. Add the teansiest bit of salt. Just a few specks will do.
5. (optional) Add either vanilla or cinnamon or both. If you have a cold, try adding the merest drop of pepper sauce.
6. Stir kinetically.
7. Drink and enjoy.

This concoction has almost no carbs and no fat. It is Atkins friendly, Weight Watchers friendly and Matthew friendly.

My secret recipe

for tomato sauce. I learned to do this as a bachelor, but I've gotten raves for it.

Take one can (whatever size you like) of whole peeled tomatoes. Open the can.

Get a skillet or frying pan of some sort and set it at medium heat. When a drop of water sizzles when it hits the pan, remove the tomatoes one by one from the can and smoosh them over the pan. I usually throw the liquid in the can away, but you can reuse it for something else if you want.

Add anything else that you think might be tasty. I've used browned ground beef, prosciutto ham, garlic, olive oil, cumin, cilantro, basil, really the skies the limit.

Cook the smooshed tomatoes until they look like a sauce.

You're done. Enjoy!