Lord of the WHAT ring?

funny and pretty SFW as long as you don't output to speakers :) Lord of the... hmm.. Rings

no bake?? NO BAKE??

well after being the ambitious cooktrying to conquer the crème brûlée i wandered into Williams-Sonoma tonight (love that store, i think unmarried people should have a registry anyways and not have to get married to get presents from their wishlist!!!)

in any case i was shopping for risotto rice (i ended up ruining my risotto because i didn't realize i had no wine at home so i just used more chicken stock and now it's overly salty and i'm trying to save it by adding in frozen peas and going to caramelized some dice onions tomorrow to mix it in, but i digress)

in any case, loved looking at everything, then i picked up what looked like a soy milk off the rack sort of packaging... it claims to be acrème brûlée mix; which is not uncommon. but the instructions on the bcak facinated me - no bake? WHAT??? after slaving and forcing myself to be precise and meticulous with my baking, i found out that there is a known alternative to the traditional way of making this lovely dessert - in fact, the non-baking version seem to be more creamy and velvety smooth!!!!

grrrrrr

really i wanted ot shell out the 9$ for this miraculous mix that promises me a carpool-lane-shortcut that skips a tedious step for this impatient girl. however, i thought, getting home so late and still cooking risotto from scratch was ambitious enough; and that it would be delusional for me to have the energy to attempt to make a dessert as well.

ok so i sit here after i'm done cooking, with the barely edible (but potentially savable) pot of risotto, and i can't get the crème brûlée out of my head. a bit of Googling revealed that the 9$ would have been overpriced since i had all the fresh ingredients at home and could make the no-bake version perfectly fine on my own.

so tomorrow i will attempt this amazing featof no-bake crème brûlée. in the meantime i am sharing the recipe because i think this is very me - the shortest possible path to make something that is classic. elegant,  tasty and presentable to the public, if need be. (think Rice Krispy Squares commercial where the mom chills in the kitchen and last minute sprinkle herself with flour to pretned hard work when delivering the treats to her kids)

No Bake Creme Brulee

All the cooking for this version is done on the cooktop.
Servings: 6

I N G R E D I E N T S
3 cups heavy cream
2 vanilla beans
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 tablespoon white granulated sugar (for top)


I N S T R U C T I O N S

Split each vanilla bean lengthwise. Place cream in a medium heavy-bottomed pan, scrape vanilla bean seeds into the cream (use a sharp-tipped knife) then add the beans and heat until bubbles begin to form at edges of the pan. Remove from heat and let stand 30 minutes to infuse the cream with the vanilla flavor.

Beat egg yolks with sugar until pale and thick. Strain cream and vanilla with a fine sieve and pour into egg yolk mixture. Cook, without boiling, over low heat until mixture thickens and coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and divide evenly among 6 large ramekins or custard cups. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours, until set.

Prior to serving, sprinkle remaining sugar evenly over custards and brown with a kitchen torch or under the oven broiler. Refrigerate until serving.

links of interest

you can get a Yale education free online!

crazy Motorcycle rollercoaster

potentially new Ben & Jerry ice cream flavors (I'd vote for mojito)

what would you say to a future you?

offline blog editor

so my last post looked funny in font & color cuz i was trying out an offline blog editor (my connection at home is fickle at best) :)

the one i decided to test drive first was Qumana - decent for a free software, does what i need, but does not pull existing postings from blogs (such as this) where i was not the only contributor.

may test drive Etco next, which is free-trial only. but free is a very alluring pricetag...

the fusion cook

last week i ventured into the world of creme brulee... as in i had a craving for it, and in true amy style, instead of splurging 5$ at your local semi decent dessert place, i was detrermined to make it at home myself and conquer this recipe...

the danger of making dessert, in my opinion, is that i would either waste a lot of whatever don't finish eating before it rots, or i would become jovially fat if i finish everything i made myself... most recipes portion for 6 to 8 ppl...

to me baking is for the perfect chemist. follow directions precisely and you are rewarded with a fluffy souffle, a perfectly whipped meringue, and a delightfully light angel food cake - for me those often turn out to be gobs of messy masses that resemble more of Picasso's later artwork than any edible delight. i'm more of a cooking girl - experimental, often a pleasant surprise, but sometimes the inventive je-ne-sais-quoi goes one step too far and a seemingly tasty combination of ingredients just don't work together.

so back to my creme brulee, i got this chocolate creme brulee recipe that seems to-die-for (like every other woman on earth there are times when i can promise you the naming rights of my firstborn for a piece of good dark chocolate). the regular creme brulee part wasn't so bad, but i got to the recipe where you add the melted chocolate (i used the 4$ bar of Dark Twlight Delight from Lyndt) and fold into the cream.. i got the chocolate seizing because it was warm and the cream mixture was cool and so all of a sudden the chocolate had a slight being-frozen-quickly effect. well i poured my heart and my 4$ bar of chocolate (and 2$ vanilla bean pods) into this experiment, i was determined to see it through so i baked the darn thing, refridgerated 3 hours... sprinkled sugar on top, brulee it away...

the fortunate thing is the chocolate the seized melted again in the baking process. the unfortunate thing is that it seemed to float on top, so i had a dual-layer effect where the top of under the crunchy sugary shell was chocolate moussey, and while the bottom exhibit a darkened version of the creme brulee we know and love. the end result wasn't bad, it was rather good, though 'different'. and i managed to finish it between me and a friend or two, even if it gained me some pounds. i don't think i'll try it again with chocolate though, i was missing the soft, melt-in-your-mouth creamy texture and the strong sweet vanilla that made the classic dessert so... well, classic.

for what it's worth i am an excellent Fusion cook.

it comes from having the audacity to 'tweak' recipes without knowing what you're doing. like substitute milk for cream, for example. or oyster-soy mixture for worcheschire sauce. or bok choy for brocoli. well basically, any traditional cuisine recipe BECOMES fusion recipe in my hands, i substitute and make changes where i could, and then most of the time i feel useless because i have created monster plates that even i, the mother who created this creature, can not stomach. ok so it's not always bad, but lots of time it's not GOOD.

when i do cook for friends (that's you, reading this blog), i'll resort to a small subset of Tried-And-True recipes where i can't fail. then you act impress and dazzled that even though i proclaim i can't cook, my food turns out edible and you are pleasantly delighted of the lessened risk of stomache ache i might have otherwise served with your dinner. but you and i know the truth that it takes quite a few tries, many tears (onions, smoke from too-hot-pan) and a hard stomach (and pride) before that recipe is presentable. now you know my secret.

sounds like a vacation

i got the latest Nike Training info for my upcoming matahon... they make it sound like a vacation!!!
i was told this was a fun half/marathon to do, it sounds great indeed!

• Oxygen bar at mile 6.8
• Luna Bars at Mile 7
• Jamba Juice Banana Station at mile 10.7
• Ghirardelli Chocolate Station at mile 11.9
• Official 2006 Finisher's necklace designed by Tiffany & Co.
• Nike Dri-FIT Finisher's tee

earning my way

this week, though shorten, really makes me feel like i'm really earning my living...
lots of issues at work, my team pulling together, but that doesn't mean i get to leave before 7pm every night, or that i haven't started getting a headache by 4:30pm every day...

this is quite a cute site for more intelligent humor (brilliant idea if you ask me)

alright... so it's nearing fall and i'm starting to feel all apple-pie craving, cozy-up-blanket-next-to-a-fireside-with-a-good-book kinda feeling. lacking apple pie and fireside at home, i opted for the next logical thing - shopping for a comfy duvet cover. now i've learned about TC (threadcounts) for sheets a few years ago, it's changed my life forever (not sure my parents still know about threadcounts, at home we just had "sheets" and some were prettier print than others). i have this set of beech sateen sheets at home, that is softer than the 600+ threadcount sheets i've felt at Bed Bath & Beyond (yes, i have fondled many sheet set samples at that store, i'm a TC slut) but my sheets are soooooo soft. i love lounging in my bed, since we spend 8+ hours in bed every night, shouldn't we have fabulous feeling sheets?!?!!?

And so i bought a duvet cover... 800TC, we'll see if it lives up to its name. i'm tempted to get a 620TC set of sateen sheets that would match the duvet cover. currently my sole set of sheets has my undying loyalty and absolute love. do i really NEED a 2nd set of sheets? the only reason would be so everything would match (my sheets is taupe color, the new duvet cover is baby blue) i just want the pretty matching bedroom set all the BigGirls have. :) i still have miscellaneous pieces of furniture i've acquired/adopted/bought-out-of-desperate-need that has followed me around.

more on my training, been running whenever i get a chance (it's my tv time). so far i've only managed to run 5 miles before giving up because i'm impatient... i am not a natural born runner, i get bored, even when watching tv (note to self, must check for good tv show to be on before getting to gym). however, i have managed to up the speed of my last mile of running, because i just desperately want to get the 5th and final mile done with. yeah i know i need to work on enduring 10+ miles instead of doing my 5 in faster time... eventually.

this is the last weekend i have both league's hockey games - i've decided to drop my women's league for at least a season... well my gym memberships and hockey camps and bootcamp costs have taken a toll on how much i spend on my 'hobbies', plus i'm really supposed to be devoting more time training for my Half marathon. it's a bit sad though, i enjoy the physical game in the women's league. but it will be nice to have 1 day out of the weekend back and not have to plan everything ELSE around my hockey game (have to eat x hours before game... can't eat x, y and z because it won't settle well in tummy... gotta leave z minutes before the game to get there in time... can't meet friends for v minutes after the game because got to factor in time to change and drive home)

ok Daichi, i have hit the Runner's High only once during my training (it did feel like i can run forever) but i have to admit i no longer HATE running (i still drag GOING to run, but once i've got a mile in me, i no longer detest it and slow stop thinking of curse words in my head...)

new gadget?

i was browsing around and saw the term 'IPEX Wireless' and the first thought was, ohh new cool gadget, maybe new bluetooth adaptor-enabled new toy...

then i read on...
it's the recent model of vicky secret's bra....... lol the naming of today's products has blurred to be less-functional-sounding and more techie-cool-sounding
speaking of cool technology, was out to lunch with a coworker and his wife the other day, she just had her latest ultrasound and they're having a boy! but she told me of the 3D Ultrasound she's going to get, which has pictures/videos of Baby in 3D. kinda cool, kinda freaky (not sure i can sit through and watch what's inside my tummy in 360 pan vision!)

for those who haven't made it to my game yet, lucky you! although i vastly improved, from the looks of the video you may not be able to tell. think Bambi on ice. yeah I'm number 17 on Black - Desert Theives game. Erin is the goalie. that game my team won by default (the other team didn't have enough people show up) but the final score was 0-0. This is the Women's League (i also play co-ed mixed level which is much faster but less rough)

Amy's women's league hockey game Aug 26, 2006

game highlights with me - at these time markers:
42:50, 45:00, 47:50, 48:45, 51:55
(PS these are not the special cursed random numbers from LOST ;))

muffies & nectarines

hope everyone had a good labour day weekend!!! now i'm not sure what the rule is, can i still wear white after labour day? i was told no-white-after-labour-day dates back to catholic church origins where one had to wear an egg-shell-off-white color after labour day or something.. hmmm i'm not religious enough to know.

i had a muffie this weekend - it's cross between a muffin and a cookie and it was good! imagine this is the perfect muffin top, and just the muffin top - basically muffin batter cooked like a cookie. it's the perfect snack, because i crave food sooo many times a day but never big hunking meals. i can't seem to find a recipe online but i think if i get anxious/adventurous enough i'll go and tweak some muffin recipes and drop them on the pan like cookies. sounds low maintenance and yummy!

i went out to a bar friday night with some friends, hung out, drank and danced a little. sat morning, i had set up a hike with my friend J from work near her place. we met at Peet's coffee beforehand and headed near Alum Rock park. Peet's coffee is totally a very Seattle-coffee-culture type of feeling - everyone seems healthy and organic, and seem to be stopping by for the caffeine on-route to climbing a mountain, or running a triathlon, or on their way to building a home for the homeless... They seem very Do Gooder and i felt a bit out of place there... the coffee is however stronger and richer in taste than my usual Starbucks; i know i am slowly falling prey to the SB franchise and being too-used to how they make my usual drinks...

in any case J and i went for a hike, total of something like 5-6 miles up and down this big hill (it seem so tall when we were driving and seeing it in the distance). the hike was good, we started around 10:30am before it got real hot, and since we were chatting all the way, the hike up wasn't bad or long. when we go to the top there was a wooden bench and we sat there, eating the nectarines i'd brought with me, and looking out across to the other mountains and just enjoying the beautiful weather and view and how much we climbed without realizing it.
it was a fantastic moment in time... you know once in a while you have one and you look back to review your life these moments kinda sticks out as a marker. it took us less than 3 hours, but so worthwhile. and we rewarded ourselves with good vietnamese food afterwards cuz we were soooo hungry

i'm also in the midst of Season 1 of 24, it's addictive and got a lot of twists which is pretty clever. a friend lent me the season... now i'm hooked... i'm at hour 3pm.
lol